Far From Perfection 3: The Roads To Recovery
by CheddarFetta
Summary: "They say that sooner or later, everyone needs a reality check. But some realities are just too awful to contemplate." With all new drama, all new twists and all new challenges for our favourite characters, how will they get through their far from perfect lives this time? Pairings: Rikki/Zane, Cleo/Lewis, Will/Bella.
1. Fairytale Characters Would Be Jealous

**Hey, hey, hey! Welcome to the third Far From Perfection in this trilogy! I have been dying to post this since I wrapped up the sequel, but with great restraint I decided to wait until the 30th since that is exactly two years to the day since I posted the first chapter of Far From Perfection 2.**

 **So, one thing you may note is that the perspective changes. After writing the first two stories in first person, I have changed to third person. Partly because third person feels like the more proper way of writing and partly for myself to be able to explore a different writing style after so many years.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Even Fairytale Characters Would Be Jealous**

This tale is set not too long after the high school reunion and not too long after everyone in the group brought their own exciting news to share at Mako Island.

It is not too long after Will and Bella announced their engagement.

It is not too long after Cleo and Lewis shared their son's unsurprising merman developments, which then triggered them to move out.

It is not too long after Rikki and Zane announced that despite their hiccups, they weren't planning to give up their marriage anytime soon.

It is not too long after Emma and Ash's revelation they are moving home to Australia once again and returning to Queensland.

It is not too long after everyone's lives well and truly appeared to be back on track, with their bright shiny futures, only needing to walk in a straight line.

* * *

The scene is set as evening begins to roll in and the temperature begins to drop, bringing in a cooler breeze on a summer's evening to the esplanade of Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.

Nine adults, a five year old and a two month old baby are all set up and comfortable far closer to the cement than the cold water from their consecutive positions up on the shore. The group create a messy circle around the centrepiece; a large piece of butchers paper where their oily, salty hot-chips dinner is sitting on the sand.

The couples are all casually collapsed into each other to some degree, Tam nurses the youngest of the group, while the second youngest gleefully runs circles around the group, alternating between trying to feed or chasing seagulls.

Conversation comes and goes in waves as the adults add to or just sit back and listen to the chatter as they please, with no discomfort or awkwardness in the few and far between moments when the group goes quiet.

Everyone is comfortable, everyone is content, but most of all, everyone is _happy_.

Among the chatter, everyone's lives are thriving while they all float along happily within their own little bubbles and in their own little worlds.

No one wants to even consider, let alone welcome, anything that might bring any one of them down from the high in their lives or that might threaten their happiness.

* * *

"That was a really good night, hey?" Cleo mentions, conversing with her husband as they arrive home to their new flat after their afternoon and evening they had spent at the beach with their mutual friends.

From the bathroom, a mere room away, Lewis replies while bathing their son.

"It sure was. Hey, how much longer are Em and Ash staying down here for before they move up to Brizzy?"

"I'm not too sure. 10 days? A fortnight, maybe?"

The couple's friend and her boyfriend from way back had recently returned to their home country after travelling, working and living abroad since high school. After making the decision to move home, she has had great difficulty in finding a place that meets her meticulous standards and is within her price range. So, Emma had been forced to broaden their apartment-hunting boundaries before she had eventually found an apartment just north of Brisbane.

That particular conversation comes to end as soon as Lewis has his answer before minutes later, Cleo hears tiny squeals and more manly chuckles originating from the bathroom of their flat. The noise is music to the wife-slash-mother's ears.

"What mischief are you boys getting up to in here?"

As Cleo stands in the open doorway between the bathroom and the hallway, she overlooks and watches her husband crouching beside the bath where the little, tailed baby is happily splashing in his baby bath.

"Gosh, this kid loves bath-time" Lewis muses, continuing to scatter little handfuls of water over Lincoln, much to his delight.

"Can you blame him? I can't believe that I spent so much of my life hating the water."

The couple continue to watch their son, absorbing his happiness for close to half an hour before it gets a little too cold for the baby to continue in the water and bedtime approaches for the family of three.

Watching their son fall asleep within his much bigger bassinette, Cleo sighs contentedly.

"Link is great. _Life_ is great..."

* * *

"So, the 13th of August. 4 months away. We have got _so_ much that we have to organise before then. Have you got any thoughts or ideas for the wedding?"

"Well, I've been thinking it should probably be legal...?"

Will's response that is equally coy as it is unhelpful simply results in a disapproving eye roll from his fiancée.

"Well, that's some completely helpful advice right there. Seriously, I should just let you be in charge of the entire thing..." Bella trails off, unimpressed, before the male and the elder of the two grabs her wrists, pulling her in his direction as Will's blue eyes concentrate on meeting Bella's own turquoise ones.

"Listen, I'm not too fussed because I just know that my beautiful bride is the most important thing to me on the day. The other stuff is just minor details to me."

Bella lights up at Will's response, showing her approval as she presses a kiss to his cheek.

"Aw, good answer mister."

Will smiles briefly before the smile evolves into a smirk, with his sense of humour ruining the good work of his previous comment.

"... Yeah, so just as long as Miranda Kerr turns up, it'll be all good."

This comment is not as warmly welcomed by the blonde, which she lets him know of by pushing her hands off of him.

"You better watch it bud or I'll remember that comment come wedding night."

Bella takes point-one of a second to take a quick breath before returning to her wedding planning focus.

"Now, Allie insists on choosing her own flower-girl dress... I'll take Cleo dress shopping sometime soon. She's the maid of honour so she'll want most input, plus I think Rikki would much rather I grab her measurements off her and order the dress on her behalf."

"Of course she does. And I'll bet you that Miss Allie will be looking like a mini-Elsa on the day..."

"Amen to that. So how's it going with you guys suits? Have you looked into any for you boys? When I know the girl's dress colour I'll let you know to coordinate your ties."

Will simply shakes his head, while Bella furrows her brow.

"Will? If you were having any second thoughts about our wedding, you'd let me know, right? I'd much rather calling it off than being left at the altar or having you feeling forced into a marriage."

This time it is Will's turn to furrow his brow, as though what Bella's saying is unthinkable.

"What do you mean? Why would you think that I'm having second thoughts? Which I'm not, for the record."

"You just don't seem very committed to the wedding... You kept holding off and holding off asking Zane to be best man and Lewis to be your groomsman until last week. And _that_ was probably the easiest decision for you to make. It was so obvious that Zane had basically already finished writing his best man speech before you even asked him formally."

Sensing his fiancée's insecurities, Will leads them both to the lounge, taking a seat before directing Bella onto his lap.

"Please don't doubt the fact that I want our wedding to go ahead. I'm sorry if I've found it a little hard to get into, it's just-."

"It's just-? It's just what, Will?" Bella encourages, urging her partner to finish his sentence which has her on edge.

"Nothing. It's just nothing, don't worry about it."

Will presses a kiss to the top of Bella's hair soothingly, but Bella hangs onto her thoughts, wondering and coming to her own conclusions of the words that just might have been supposed to the follow Will's _'it's just_ -'.

* * *

"Ew, ew, ew! I'm gouging my poor little eyes out here" Tam exclaims, carrying on dramatically upon walking into the intimate scene that is playing out in the lounge room. It is later in the evening and after they had all returned home from the beach.

The youngest of the share household rushes right on past the loved-up couple to reach the kitchen, giving a running commentary of her burning eyes for the next minute which the couple uses to their advantage to get off the lounge and straighten up their clothing.

"Oh stop your whinging. Unless you're under 15 or a nun, it's nothing you haven't seen before, Tamsin" Rikki unsympathetically states as she follows her sister through to the kitchen. "Besides, shouldn't you be delighted for me that my marriage is _thriving_?"

"That's not quite the word that I'd use for it, but yes I am happy for you... as long as you take that love and keep it in your room. This is a _share-house_ , Rikki.. It could've been Will and Will could've had Allie with him!"

"Lucky them - free entertainment."

Tam just rolls her eyes at her frustrating elder sister, taking a moment to seriously consider who the oldest of the two really is. After her disapproval of her sister's comments, Tam takes a moment to scan her surroundings, looking out beyond the kitchen to check whether or not her brother-in-law is in sight or within hearing range.

"Rikki? I'm glad that you and Zane seem to be _closer_ , but knowing you two, you haven't just brushed the problems under the mat and left them to all build up again, have you? It's just that one day it looked like you might have been closer to breaking up, but then next thing you were all over each other again."

The elder of the two rolls her eyes.

"A, I'm not sure why it's any of your business. B, I don't know why you'd think that."

Tam sighs.

"It's because I know what you're both like. You're experts at shutting problems out. And I only asked you that because I care about you. And I wanted to make sure that in 'loved-up land' you still understand that there's more to a relationship than the physical."

"Yes, Tam. Don't worry you're pretty little head. What happened over the last eight months or so is in the past now. We've dealt with it and moved on and moved past it together. It's all good, Tam."

Rikki attempts to reassure, with a smile to convince her sister, but whether she is successful or not is very much open to interpretation...

* * *

This tale is set not too long after the high school reunion and not too long after everyone in the group brought their own exciting news to share at Mako Island.

However, just as anyone over the age of ten recognises that every fairytale is too good to be true, the same goes for this group of friends when in that moment at the beach, their lives seem completely picturesque.

In fact, their lives are just so good that even fairytale characters would be jealous.

... Life is just that little bit _too_ good.

* * *

 **And there you have the first chapter! I am so excited to be sharing this with you all. I'm very proud of Far From Perfection 3 so far and I can't wait to share all the plots that will be starting very, very soon!  
**

 **So far, on the surface everything looks great. But, what storm is already brewing for Bella & Will? Any thoughts on what was going to come after Will's "it's just-"? As for Cleo & Lewis and Rikki & Zane, well, their time will come.**

 **I'll update after 15-ish reviews, or so.**

 **Next chapter: How can one phone call change everything? One couple has a big decision to make.**


	2. What Do You Go Home To?

**I just want to say a really big thank you to everyone who is supporting my writing and everyone who reviewed/favourited/followed the third Far From Perfection. Without that encouragement, I really don't know if I could have sustained writing this series for so many years... Thank you. I really hope you all enjoy what is in-store over the next 31 chapters!**

 **Also, my lovely FanFiction friend Marril96 has made some awesome fan-art on Tumblr for FFP... Please go and check it out! It includes an adorable Clewis + Link fan-art to get in you in the mood for this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: What Do You Go Home To?**

Sleep.

Sleep has become a valued, prized and treasured thing within the McCartney household since the arrival of baby Lincoln, who has helped his parents to realise that they didn't know what a luxury they had until it was gone.

Even the dark bags under the new parent's eyes had their own luggage, too.

Come 8 AM Saturday morning, Cleo and Lewis had been sleeping for about an hour and a half since Link's 6:30 awakening, with another one not due for another hour or so.

However, when Lewis's mobile phone starts vibrating with his ringtone blasting out nosily, it is clear that whoever is on the other side of the phone does _not_ realise just how sacred the Saturday morning sleep-in is for the new parents.

"Your phone" Cleo groggily utters, sabotaging her husband's attempts to ignore the phone call.

"Nah... I can _choose_ not to answer my phone. The baby, not so much."

There's a wordless moment of 'amen sister' between the couple who proceed to ignore the phone call until it eventually rings out, no doubt sending the caller to Lewis's message bank.

Finally, no baby, no phone, just quiet.

... For two seconds.

"Good grief, we're not emergency services! Who on earth tries to call _twice_ on a Saturday morning?!"

Cleo groans. "Just answer it."

Now it's Lewis's turn to grumble, sitting up and snatching his phone off of the bedside table at a volume that is far louder than what Cleo approves of.

"Hello?"

Cleo tries to resume her rest and tries to remain sleeping as quickly as possible, preferably before her husband speaks again.

"Yes this is Lewis McCartney. Who, may I ask, am I speaking to?"

Another pause. This one is substantially longer. In fact, Cleo is almost at the point of dozing once again before a part of the conversation catches her attention, waking her up all over again.

"I see... Alright, well if you email that through, I'll have a look over it and speak with my wife about it. I'll see you on Tuesday. Thanks for the call."

Seconds later, the phone call has ended and while Lewis is collapsing back into his pillow, Cleo is sitting upright.

"What exactly are you speaking to your wife about?"

"It's just a job offer. Let's sleep. We can discuss it in a few hours."

By telling his wife those teasing keywords, Lewis basically, albeit unintentionally, is signed on and consenting to the fact that there is no way that he'll be getting back to sleep now.

"A job offer? Who from? Is it with your same company? Is the pay better? What hours? What's there to talk to me about?"

"It's no big deal. I'll probably say no, but I'll explain it all to you once we wake up properly..." Lewis says, trailing off, partly due to the fact that he can't see the teasing and tempting carrot that is being dangled in front of his face working out in his favour at this point in time. It couldn't possibly. Not with a new baby. Not right now...

Cleo doesn't attempt to push for any more information at this stage, knowing that it is probably more trouble than what it is worth. She doesn't think she'd be geting any more information out of him at this stage, and quite frankly, the prospect of sleeping is far more tempting than her nosiness about her husband's job offer.

* * *

Later that day and closer to midday, Cleo and Lewis are now well and truly up and about by now. Cleo is preparing lunch as Lewis walks around their flat, rocking their son in his arms, attempting to settle and coerce him into sleeping as he explains the job offer to his wife after she quizzes him about it once again.

"Really, I'm sure I'm going to have to say no. It just won't suit us at this stage. Not with Link."

"Lewis! You've said more about what you're _not_ going to say about the job than what you have said about the job itself! Run the details by me before you make your mind up."

Lewis reluctantly sighs, having wanted to sign off on the prospect of the job as soon as possible. The longer he pondered about it and the longer he allowed himself to imagine the 'what ifs' of the job offer, the harder it would be to say no to the job. Band-aids hurt less being ripped off in one motion, rather than being drawn out painfully.

"Well the job is based in Cairns. It involves working out on some of the smaller islands up there, studying the biology, environment and atmosphere of marine animals and plants for conservation purposes. It sounds amazing, but the problem is that is that it's two weeks on and two weeks off."

Cleo pauses from the piece of rye bread that she is buttering to consider the seriousness of the job offer; the difficult conditions, but also the amount of interest in her husband's voice over it.

"Well... Northern Queensland is closer than Northern America... That's a start."

"True, but it's still not a possible option for us right now."

Cleo hesitates. "It's not not a _possible_ option, but it is not an _easy_ option. But, if it's something that you're really interested in, then I do think it is something we should weigh up."

Lewis shakes his head, pausing to speak after first checking whether or not his son is asleep yet, before he continues walking around the flat and continuing with attempting to rock Lincoln to sleep.

"No Cleo. I admit that I do love the sound of the work, but I've been coming to terms with the fact that it's just a timing issue. I can't leave you and Link for half a month at a time."

"That's not necessarily the _only_ way around it... If it is a job that you are really, really interested in, we could always move north and come with you."

Again, another head-shake is borne from Lewis.

"No. No way. You love it here on the Gold Coast. It's your home, _our_ home. I wouldn't let you leave your family and your friends here just for my sake. We'd have to uproot our whole life and start again."

Cleo sighs and both she and Lewis know that is not an option that would make both of them happy. Putting down the knife that she had been using during lunch prep, Cleo walks over and takes a seat on their lounge where Lewis joins her within seconds.

"Honestly, how interested are you in the job?"

"It sounds _amazing_ – like a dream job. Working off the islands, swimming, a bit of diving and then testing back at some of the labs."

Cleo laughs under her breathe. "Wow. It sounds like your dream job in a nutshell. What's the pay like? And what's the likelihood of the same or a similar job offer coming around again?"

"Well money is a big jump from what I'm getting at the moment, plus it'd be more hours. And put it this way, do you remember that job that I went for while we were engaged? It's that job. I was the next in line for that job and I was first on the waiting list if they got another position like that and now they have... Almost six years on."

A sigh slowly releases itself from Cleo's lips as the realisation and decision strikes her.

"So, let's see. This is basically your dream job. You'll be getting paid more. It'll mean working in paradise. And, it's the first time the job has come around in 6 years... You have to take it Lewis."

"You forgot to mention the fact that it's also over a two hour plane ride away and it'll mean that I won't get to be with my wife and our son for two weeks at a time."

Cleo places a hand on Lewis's shoulder, the second best option to his hands which are occupied with holding the baby.

"We'll make it work. We _always_ make it work. We could always come and see you from time to time and then when you're not working, you'll get two, **whole** weeks at a time to spend all day with us."

Lewis sighs, looking between his wife and son before be proceeds to speak again.

"No Cleo. I can't do that. I can't be away from the two of you for so long at a time. You'll basically be a single mum when I'm not here."

"Okay. Let's both just give it some thought, and then get back to each other about how we feel about the idea, then. It's too big to just say yes or no to right at this stage."

As the room falls to a sad silence, there is this feeling of discontent that settles upon the couple as realisation dawns. There is no going back now. There is no way to un-hear the job offer and there is no ideal option between Lewis taking the job and either leaving his perfect family behind; uprooting them and their perfect life to move with him or turning down the most perfect job in the world for the twenty-five year old.

* * *

Later that day, the girls came over to the McCartney's apartment for a coffee and catch up as Cleo had organised a week or so earlier; with the timing working out as the perfect distraction that she needed today.

Over the last five years, each girl has grown in their own ways and achieved their own things. None of them, not Cleo, not Rikki, not the other two girls are still the same person that they were five or so years ago. Just as they have, their catch ups have also advanced from meeting up in the moon pool or on Mako in between homework to discuss petty boy troubles.

Now, they are women. They're women with husbands, with families, with grown up issues. So, just as they have matured, so have their meetings and discussions, evolving to coffees and chats instead.

"So, how's the new home been, Cleo?" Emma asks. The topic of houses has been on her mind non-stop with the planning for own new one.

"Good so far. I miss the extra hands from my family helping with Link, though. Lewis and I are just exhausted all the time. I have _no_ idea how you did it on your own, Bella. What on earth did you do and how did you stay human when Allie wouldn't sleep?"

The current discussion is also very reflective of just how different this point in the girl's life is to that of a few years ago. Instead of giving Bella advice on ' _does he like me, does he like me not?_ ', Bella is administering the advice this time.

"She was a pretty good baby overall but if she was particularly unsettled I'd just give her a little swig of _Jack Daniel's_ with some formula... That would work a treat!"

While Rikki and Emma can see the humourous side to Bella's response with smile's breaking across their faces, Cleo appears as though she may just die with her leg up in the air, out of shock.

"I'm kidding! That was a joke, Cleo. _Joke.._." Bella emphasises to save the new mother from her generally uptight outlook. "I honestly have no idea how Allie, or I, lived to tell the tale of all those sleepless nights. It's all just one big blur."

Upon breathing a sigh of relief, Cleo hesitantly raises another question, seeking the advice of her friend's again. This time she's prepared with a pinch of salt to digest and process their initial responses.

"Alright I've got another question, girls..."

In Cleo's eyes, each of her friend's represents one option that she and Lewis have the choice of.

Over the last few years, Emma and her family had uprooted and moved away -as a family- to be together permanently through their travels and eventually as she and her brother studied and as her parents found work once again. She and Lewis too have the opportunity to follow his work and uproot for the sake of taking the job and staying together.

Rikki had been left behind. As Zane left and moved away to prison almost nine months ago, albeit forcibly, she'd been left behind at home until he returned. While the terms are much different to Zane and Rikki's, she could also choose to be left behind, left with the support of her friends and family in between Lewis working away.

Finally, Bella has always had the best of both worlds. Despite travelling with her family when she was younger, she had also spent some time travelling with Will not long after they got together venturing here, there and everywhere for Will to compete in diving competitions, but always returning with the Gold Coast as their home base.

The only other alternative not represented by her friends is that of Lewis declining the job offer. While some people may see the fairness in the fact that she had let him go during their final year of high school to pursue his career, it may seem as though it is her turn. That it's her turn for Lewis to give in for her sake, to stay with their family.

However, despite what may or what may not seem fair, Cleo knows that she cannot be the person and the reason for standing in the way of her husband's dream job, regardless of whether he wants to or not...

* * *

Later in the evening, Lewis moves through he and his wife's new apartment to locate her in their son's bedroom standing to watch her from the doorway as she nurses the young child with the high hope of coercing him to sleep.

"Cleo?" Lewis softly whispers as he stands, arms crossed, against the door-frame that envelopes two rooms between one another.

As his wife's head raises to watch him instead of the baby in her arms, Lewis proceeds to whisper in the dark room, just illuminated by a single lamp.

"I think I know what we need to do."

With a sigh, Cleo's gaze returns to Link as she gently strokes his sparse amounts of baby hair.

"I know, Lewis... I do too."

* * *

 **So, Cleo & Lewis have a pretty big decision to make. Does he say yes or no, and, should they stay or should they go? Clewis can get through anything together... right? ;)**

 **Next chapter: Things aren't quite wrong, but things aren't quite right in the share house and between Rikki, Zane, Will and Tam. What is everyone hiding from one another?**

 **I'll post again at around 25-30 reviews.**


	3. Believe Me, I'm Lying

**Sorry, sorry, sorry that I haven't updated before now. I've been pouring my writing time into the story and then I keep forgetting to proofread the existing chapters (I hate the proofreading part). Now I only have TWO chapters left to write of Far From Perfection and then it's all well and truly done. All up, the story will be either 31 or 32 chapters, it just depends whether I split a chapter or not.**

 **Also, something else that I keep forgetting to address in my A/N's is the fact that Emma and Ash don't really hang around. I bring them back now and then, but they're not main characters in this story yet. I just really struggle with incorporating them so I decided to do it only every now and then, rather than having them in the story, but it feeling forced.**

 **Thanks to all the lovely, lovely supporters that reviewed my last chapter. Thank you.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Believe Me, I'm Lying**

You know that feeling when something is not quite right, but when there's nothing quite wrong, either?

From the outside, Zane and Rikki appear to be doing well –as well as two, headstrong hotheads can do- as they fight for their marriage and each other, working through the mutual mistakes.

From the outside, Will looks happy; content with his life as he and his fiancée work together to create a day which will legally bind the two of them, to finish their perfect family with their daughter.

From the outside, Tam looks as though she is doing well and living the dream of any 20 year old. She's not tied down by a partner or family, with her only commitments being to the job that she loves and her friends.

However, just because something _looks_ good, it does not mean that it _is_ all good. It's not as simple as that. This is a concept that is known and understood by each housemate of the share house, as they question the integrity of one another's seeming happiness. All the while, everyone else is questioning their own...

* * *

"So, what's for dinner?"

"Anything, as long as I'm not cooking" Rikki quickly retorts to her husband's question which has just been posed to the entire household.

"Chinese? Indian? Pizza? Bing Boy? Subway?"

All of the fast-food alternatives to a home cooked meal are all far more welcome and far more likely than the chance that one of the members of the household will put their hand up and offer to cook a meal.

"Whatever. I'll go with the flow."

Oddity #1. As her housemates look at her curiously, each of the other three in the room identify how out of character, Tam's supposedly carefree opinion is in relation to food. Completely like her sister, even a eating disorder has not bridled the fact that she and Rikki always have very vocal -and generally opposite- opinions when it comes to food.

"Rik, do you want to get yiros'?"

Oddity #2. Zane well knows his wife's favourite cuisine, a choice which is one of his least. The fact that he is going out of his way, compromising his own preferences is another abnormality which raises eyebrows to both Will and Tam, and even his wife.

"Really? _You_ would get a yiros? But nah, I'm not all that hungry."

Oddity #3. Rikki Chadwick is _always_ hungry. Seriously, take her to an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord and she will literally eat all she can, and _still_ regret the fact she didn't stuff any into her bag or boobs for the ride home.

"Well, whatever you guys decide on, don't worry about me. I'm on a bit of a health kick. I'll just grab something from here."

Oddity #4. While Will always claims to value healthy eating, his friends have clearly softened his views over the years they have been living together. He always claims that ' _oh no, I couldn't have that_ ', but nine times out of ten, he will always give in and have it anyway.

Call it oddities or call it lies.

While each member of the share household has their own reasons for the abnormality to their usual personality or attitude, each member has also picked up on each of their other housemates own shift from what they would normally expect from them.

In addition to their own oddities or their own lies -call it what you will- each of them have their own reasons behind the change, while each person keeps their own reasons to themselves, too. No one raises a question about it, at the fear of the question being consequently raised back to them.

* * *

The next day, everything seems fine, everything seems normal, but the oddities and the lies once again manage to work their way into daily life despite it seeming like any old day from the outset.

Rikki is sprawled out on the lounge, dozing on and off. Zane is on his phone, parked at the counter with Tam while she is browsing Facebook on her laptop beside him. Meanwhile, Will has been out of sight for the last fifteen minutes or so when he comes downstairs once again. Finally he returns to the lounge room, picking up his keys off the kitchen bench beside where Zane and Tam are set up.

"Where are you off to, Benji boy?" Zane asks, questioning his best mate.

"Nowhere... Why?"

Zane gestures to the keys he has just picked up, a solid indicator of the fact that he is on his way out, telling a different story to what his words are.

"Well, nowhere important. It's nothing. I'll be back soon."

Zane does not push the matter, but the seeds of curiosity are well and truly implanted in his mind at this point. Sure, Will's not an over-sharer. Sure, he doesn't spell his day out like Tam will without even being asked what her plan for the day is. But, Zane knows that if he is asked a question, the only reason that he would hide an answer is if he is hiding something else along with it.

This fact goes to the back of Zane's mind, something to save for another time to harass his friend about before he continues on his phone for quite some time, with the girls preoccupied with their own activities.

Glancing over to the computer screen next to him, it takes Zane a moment to pinpoint what is unusual about the profile that Tam is browsing beside him. Zane _knows_ Tam and Zane _knows_ the man's whose profile page Tam is looking at. What Zane _doesn't_ know is how _they_ know each other since neither were in the picture at the same time. Especially considering that there had been a good few years between the last time Zane saw the man on the profile page and the first time he met the girl sitting beside him.

"Hey, that's Ryan. How do you know him, Tam?"

"Ryan? Who's Ryan?"

Apparently Rikki has properly awoken at some point as she quickly joins the two over at the counter having had her interest piqued by the conversation she is overhearing, while not knowing exactly what or who her husband is talking to her sister about.

"Oh. _That_ Ryan... Cleo's-sort-of, Ryan. The Ryan you and Sophie brought your evil sides out with."

Tam scrunches her face up and quickly backtracks out of the page that she had been questioned for visiting, before also diverting the question and conversation.

"I haven't heard about that story. What happened with him?"

Rikki shoots her sister a look, telling her that she _will_ answer her question, but that she will _not_ be forgetting the question that Zane posed to her which still remains unanswered.

"The short story is that basically, those three got a little bit power and money hungry, destroying nature and our favourite hangout in the process. Good times. We haven't really seen the guy since then. Now, how do _you_ know him?"

Tam hesitates and pauses for quite some time before she answers.

"Um, we met a few years ago – before I even came here. He did this extracurricular program for my earth sciences class in high school. I used to think he was pretty cute, that's all. It's interesting looking back at people that you know used to know and seeing how they change over the years."

Zane and Rikki share a look between each other, trying to assess the credibility and truth in Tam's story. There is nothing that fails to make sense in the story -nor do they know any better- _but_ there is just something off, something concealed from her explanation of Ryan. Or, perhaps, it is the emotion evoked from the page itself. There is just _something_ , but neither Zane nor Rikki press the matter anymore...

* * *

Later in the evening, it is now long after Will had returned home from wherever he did not tell his housemates that he was going earlier in the day. It is also quite a while after Tam had left for her room, in search of any early night after she seemed quite sensitive and out of sorts after her conversation with Rikki and Zane earlier.

Now, later that same day, Rikki and Zane are lying beside one another, comfortably, mid-kiss until Rikki breaks the union, taking the romantic moment in a very different direction.

"Is it just me, or have Tam and Will been a bit weird today?"

"Mm. Your sister, my best mate... They're _just_ what I like to think about before I go to sleep."

In answer to Zane's sarcastic retort, Rikki simply rolls her eyes, before offering the same question again; lacking the satisfactory answer she is after.

"That's not an answer, Bennett. Seriously, thought is it just me, or did you pick up on that too? Tam seemed really emotional and it's not like Will to keep stuff from us."

Zane shrugs. Partly out of not really caring to be discussing and analysing their housemates, and partly out of the fact that he had noticed something, but nothing which he could pinpoint.

"Who knows, Rik. It could be anything with those two. If you over-think it too much, you could deduce that Tam's dying and that Will's cheating on Bella. Or, more likely, it could be as simple as Tam having a bad day and Will was just being cranky. Stranger things have happened."

Rikki rolls her eyes. Of course it's her husband that is of even less help by trying to help.

It doesn't take long for the two to resume the kissing before another interruption comes in the form of Rikki's phone.

Again, she pulls away and grabs her phone off of her bedside table.

"Who is it?" Zane asks, noting the little smile in the corner of her lips as she reads off the little screen of the device.

"Hey? Um, it's just Cleo."

Zane wriggles a little closer to Rikki's side of the bed, all the while, scanning her phone's screen out of the corner of his eye.

Reading the screen, Zane cannot distinguish the message itself, but at the top of the screen, he can quite clearly read the contact in Rikki's phone's name out of the corner of his eye to disprove her blatant lie. The contact is _not_ Cleo.

"Oh, yeah, what did she have to say?" Zane questions, while playing along with his wife's charade for the time being.

"It's nothing exciting, just something about Link."

This is another clear, outright and blatant lie, but this time, Zane doesn't take it.

"Geez... Here I am thinking we're trying to work things out. Say 'hi' to Kyle for me. I never did have the chance to thank him for sharing you with me."

With that, Rikki doesn't try to justify the lie she has just told and been caught out on, knowing telling the truth would have landed her in just as much of a bind. Instead, she just puts her phone aside with a sigh and mirrors Zane's action as she turns to the other side of the bed, as far apart from her husband as possible with the couple's backs facing each other.

"Goodnight" Zane's simple, conclusive and cold word clearly ends the conversation.

The warring couple break just about every rule in the book regarding solving marital qualms, letting the sun set on ill feeling and mutual issues, and not for the first time. Instead, all the unresolved drama just adds to and builds on all the existing problems, piling up one by one to increase the difficulty of fighting for their marriage...

* * *

 **Any thoughts or predictions of what everyone in the share house is keeping from everyone else? Where was Will sneaking off to? Is that how Tam really knows Ryan? And is Rikki and Zane's marriage doing as well as it seems?**

 **Next chapter: Will, Bella and Allie have a family day together, before he tries to come clean to Bella.**

 **Around about 45 reviews and I'll update :D**


	4. I And Love And You

**Hi guys! Finally we have another chapter.**

 **Thank you for all of your lovely reviews on the last chapter. I really, really enjoy reading both what you think of the story and what you think is yet to happen. I really appreciate the support with this story.**

 **In other news, can you believe I am writing the last chapter of Far From Perfection 3?! The last chapter, ever! It's quite bittersweet for me because I am looking forward to the closure and satisfaction of completing a trilogy, but seeing as I have spent about the last five years writing it, it's going to be sad when it's all done and dusted.**

 **Anyway, this is a fluffier chapter, before things start going down with this little family...**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: I And Love And You**

It is nearing the end of the summer holidays, just as it is nearing the conclusion of the time that Allie has remaining before her monumental first day at school; which will be the beginning of the next phase of her little life.

To make the most of the limited amount of full days that they have together with their daughter, before sending her off to school, Will and Bella had decided some time ago to do special day trips; just as they have planned for today to be spent with a family trip to Dreamworld.

Despite keeping the day trip location top-secret, the couple had their bubbly five year old, guessing in the backseat for the entire twenty-minute trip to the theme park.

"Are we going to the beach? Are we going to swim? Are we going to the park? Are we going to tickle Uncle Zane? Are we going to fly? Can I visit Peppa Pig? Are we going to the hill? Are we going to the shops? Am I getting a puppy? A goldfish? Can I get a dolphin? Can I get a dolphin and a goldfish and a puppy and play with them at the park and the beach? Please?!"

These guesses, consisting of absolutely anything and everything that jumped into little Allie's mind made for both a painstakingly long, yet entertaining trip up the freeway to reach the theme park which she has never visited before.

Finally, upon their arrival, Allie is suddenly filled with wonder and excitement at the place which she can recognise, the place that she has driven past with her parents many times, yet never visited. She can only imagine what lies behind the walls of what has always appeared to be the coolest place on earth to a five year old.

"Oh! It's _that's place_! We're going to _that place_!" Allie exclaims excitably as she races to get out of the parked car as soon as possible. She has never known the name of Dreamworld, but she has always voiced her desire to visit 'that place'.

The moment that Allie's child-locked car door is opened, that girl bursts out of there without a second thought and without a second to waste. From the moment that she is unleashed, there is no stopping her as she bursts through the entry gates with her own little ticket and with her parents right behind her.

There is no end to the fascination and amazement of the four year old, as she and her parents walk through the park, making the most of the rides, the animals and the toys that surpass the child's excitement and imagination...

* * *

By later in the day, they had already visited all the kids' areas, twice, eaten, gone through the ball area, taken Allie on about five rides and bought ice-creams, when the three finally crashed.

Allie sat down for about two seconds to take a few mouthfuls of her ice-cream, before getting distracted and deciding she wanted to go back to playing as the little Energizer bunny ran back to the play area, befriending a little boy.

"Can you remember the last time we were here?" Bella asks from her position resting on Will's shoulder with her fiancés arm wrapped around her on the seat they share together.

"Mm... It was that day we went as a group, it would have been not long after grad and sans-Allie, that's for sure. It's weird thinking back to life without her. In a way, it sort of feels like she's always been here. I can't believe how fast it feels like she's growing up."

Looking over to the subject of their conversation, Will's eyes follow their giggling child on the playground, ensuring she's still safe and in sight.

"I know what you mean. I think the same thing. But, let's just focus on enjoying every day we've got with her, and together" Will resolves thoughtfully, pressing a kiss to his fiancées hair as she snuggles a little closer and tighter into him, the two watching their daughter and her unwavering, bright smile.

* * *

The day after the young family's day trip to Dreamworld, they spend the following afternoon at Will's share house, in the company of Zane and his sister-in-law, Tam, while Rikki is out working.

Bella and Tam are settled in the corner of the backyard, drinks in hand while relaxing from afar as they watch the interactions of the others. Currently, Will and Zane are taking turns to jump on the trampoline along with Allie, having already participated in games of hide and seek and chasey, which the big kids at heart seem to be enjoying more than the five year old.

"Thanks again for agreeing to look after her tonight" Bella smiles, looking between her friend and where her daughter, fiancé and her friend's husband are playing.

Over the last few months, the friendship between Bella and Tam has grown quite significantly. While Rikki and Zane have tended to spend more alone time together, working on rebuilding their marriage, Bella and Tam have drawn closer. Instead of just being her friend's sister, the two are now consider each other as their own close friends.

"Not a problem! You two deserve a date night."

"Hopefully she won't be too much trouble tonight. Courtesy of the boys, she should be in bed nice and early for you guys."

Tam smiles, but doesn't reveal the fact that her soft-spot for Allie means that she wouldn't mind if Bella is wrong.

"So what about you guys? Do you think Will has any great big plans for you two tonight?"

Looking over to her fiancé from afar, Bella pauses and bites her lip before replying to the blonde.

"To be quite honest, I'm not sure Tam. Just lately it's felt like something is going on with him. I totally trust him, but it's almost like he's hiding something. Although I have no idea as to what exactly."

Tam reacts in a similar way to Bella, looking over to Will who has just been tackled to the lawn by Zane. Looking over to him, it is almost as though she looks for any big signs that indicate what could be wrong; any neon signs or any revelations etched on his forehead. Instead, no, it's just the same old Will.

"If you're right, I'm sure it's nothing too big. Perhaps it's just something he's got up his sleeve for tonight?"

"I hope so..." Bella says, trailing off with a small, polite smile, although she doesn't reveal the fact that she doesn't think so.

The girls revert back to sipping their drinks and overlooking the activities of the backyard, watching as three decide have now decided to play duck, duck, goose, instead.

"Allie's just so cute" Tam awes with a light laugh as she watches the three interacting. "I must admit that I've been looking forward to her sleeping over tonight and spending some time with her."

"Thanks Tam" Bella smiles gratefully, slipping into mother-mode. "I just can't believe how fast she's growing up. Will and I were talking about that just yesterday."

Tam nods in agreement. Even in the three or so years that she has known the little girl, she's seen her grow and evolve from the dependent infant, witnessing every new word she has learnt to broaden her vocabulary until she reached the point that she is at now as a sweet and completely charming five year old.

"Do you think that you and Will will have another kid?"

While the question momentarily stuns Bella who's only big event in view is her wedding, she quickly analyses the question before sharing her answer with Tam.

"I think that it is quite likely that we will have another one at some point in time, just not now and not until after the wedding. Right now, life's perfect; life's good. Saying that, I think Will's more eager than me. You know, because he missed out on so much of Allie's first year, he's keener to experience all of that."

"Why do you say that... just out of curiosity? About the first year. I mean it's not like Will could ever go back and relive what he missed from Allie."

Bella shrugs, looking over to her friend to gauge her curiosity, and, the reason behind it.

"I guess a baby does the most growing and changing. They generally go from doing very little to recognising, walking and talking. I think they change the most over the first year, you know what I mean?"

Tam nods and the two fall into a silence, before Bella inserts a new question into the conversation to reinvigorate the discussion.

"What about you? If you met the right guy, do you think you'd want kids?"

Tam is coy about the question, taking a few moments to speak.

"Honestly, I don't really know. I mean I like children, but I don't think I would be a good mother to my own."

Bella nods, getting the vibe from her friend that it is not really a discussion that she is that keen on having. After all, the girl is barely 21. Sure, Bella might have had a one year old at Tam's age, but there's a big difference between babysitting and being a parent; and parenthood's really not for everyone...

So, instead, the two revert back to watching the five year old and the two big kids that are playing around with her.

* * *

After they had spent the afternoon at the share house, the plans that Will had arranged for Zane, Rikki and Tam to babysit for the night took place to allow the couple a date night.

Upon arriving home to her apartment, Bella drops her keys on the bench, a few steps ahead of Will.

"So, have you got any plans for tonight? What shall you and I get up to? Should we have dinner out? Dinner in? Skip dinner?"

Bella and Will are clearly on very different wavelengths, which is obvious to everyone but Bella. While she had assumed the date night would be just like any other, with the sole purpose of spending the time together and usually enjoying a little romance without their daughter around, Will has a very different agenda for the evening; with one goal in mind to achieve for the evening.

Will lingers behind her steps, waiting in the hallway between the entryway of his fiancées apartment to the living area which she is zipping around in, picking up madly after the absent five year old's mess from earlier in the day.

"Um, Bels. Can that wait for a bit? I need to have a serious conversation with you, first. There's something that you need to know."

Pausing from what she is doing, Will's voice –not to mention his words themself- instantly spark a panic within Bella.

"What is it? Will? You're scaring me."

Looking into his eyes, even while they are metres apart, Bella knows that whatever he has to say next, whatever impact those words will have on her life, she already knows that she will _not_ like it.

* * *

 **So what in the world does Will have to tell Bella? It's gonna break that girl's heart. Any guesses? I'm very curious about your opinions to see if anyone will pick it... Anyway, I wanted to have a predominantly nicer, lighter chapter for these guys because it's a roller-coaster from here!**

 **Next chapter: What decision have Cleo  & Lewis made about his job offer? What will the impact have on their family?**

 **When we reach around 60 reviews, I'll put a new chapter up!**


	5. Learning To Fall

**Woo, new chapter.  
**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter, especially the guest reviewers who I couldn't thank personally. Also, thanks to everyone who's guessed what Will's hiding. I've loved reading your theories and guesses... You'll find out what it is next chapter.**

 **Anyway, onto this Clewis-y little update!**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Learning to Fall**

The evening that Lewis and Cleo met in their son's room, they made a mutual decision about Lewis's too-perfect job offer, resulting in him making a phone call the very next day, accepting the job.

However, a few days later is when Lewis began to second-guess the couple's decision, when the realisation started to sink in as to what their decision and what Lewis's new job will mean for their family and their life as they know it.

"Cleo, are you sure we've made the right decision?" Lewis questions a few days later, mid-shirt folding as he as Cleo hover over a suitcase, adding items neatly and efficiently, one-by-one.

Cleo just gives him a small, supportive nod, in-between folding her husband's jacket up; not revealing her own doubts and her own concerns about their situation. Despite her own fears, she just keeps reminding herself of the fact that if _she_ was in Lewis's position, he would be encouraging her in every way possible to take the opportunity, and he would be right there to support her, 100%. But, right now, this is _her_ opportunity for her do that, and show that loyalty to him.

"I do. Change is always scary at first, but we'll get into a new routine and these changes will just become second nature soon enough. Plus, think of how good it will be spending a _whole_ two weeks together as a family."

Standing on the opposite side of the bed and at the opposite side of the suitcase, Lewis shoots his wife a smile, as her words effectively reassure his concerns.

"I know. I can't wait to be back with you guys for a fortnight. But are you sure you'll be able to manage him on your own okay? We've only just got into a routine with him, together, with our combined efforts. Are you sure you'll manage on your own?"

Cleo simply gives her husband another nod.

"We'll be fine. And at the end of the day, Link has plenty of doting grandparents, aunties and uncles that would be all too happy to help me out and take him off my hands for a bit."

Lewis smiles at the statement he knows all too well is true. Over the course of their son's short life, he's already lost count of how many times they have had offers for him to be babysat.

Cleo finishes folding up the last item of clothing that will leave with Lewis tomorrow, both headed for Northern Queensland, before walking around to the other side of the bed to meet up with her husband.

The two wrap their arms around each other and share a tight squeeze of an embrace.

"Now, McCartney, stop worrying about Link and I. You know I always have that one covered enough for the both of us, already. You just have to focus on kicking goals in your new job and getting back to us as soon as possible."

Reflecting on his wife's strength, being prepared to raise their son single-handedly as well as her support for him to pursue his dreams by taking this new job, only leads Lewis to a conclusion consisting of nine little words...

"I love you Cleo" Lewis whispers as he presses a kiss into her hair from the couple's embrace. "I love you _so_ much."

* * *

"So this is it..." Cleo says; popping the couple's little bubble of silence and calm among the surrounding chaos in the busy airport.

"It's not too late, you know..." Lewis replies not closing their options up entirely, reminding his wife that if she has any issue about their decision for him to take the long-distance job, then she still has time to let him know.

While Lewis reminds Cleo of the fact that it is not yet too late to back out, it is notable that while he gives Cleo the opportunity to speak up, to stop his impending travel, he does not willingly volunteer the option of doing so.

"I know, but I won't let you back out now, not even for my sake. You've got to do this for you, but Link and I will be right here waiting for the second that you get home."

Lewis sighs, pausing from dragging his suitcase through the airport to hug his wife. While he is excited about his dream job that he will begin as soon as he lands further up the coast, he cannot be _completely_ joyous, knowing he it comes at the cost of leaving his wife and son behind for two entire weeks. That realisation sets in as Lewis presses a kiss to the top of Cleo's head, making the most of every moment he has now.

"I'm gonna miss you guys so much."

Cleo presses a kiss to her husband's cheek as they slowly near his boarding gate.

"We'll miss you too, but this'll get easier."

Looking down to the baby in his wife's arms with a sigh, Lewis is passed his son as Cleo notices the look in his eyes.

"He better not do too much growing or anything new while I'm gone."

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to stunt his development" Cleo light-heartedly jokes about her son as Lewis rocks Link in his arms for as long as possible, until an announcement reminds the two of the increasingly impending goodbye.

"So, this is _actually_ it" Cleo repeats her own words from just minutes earlier again, upon hearing the overhead announcement about the final call for flight DJ413.

Lewis sighs, giving his son a final, soft squeeze in his arms, pressing a kiss to his small head before handing the child back to his mother.

"Bye Link. Don't miss me too much. Be good for your mum."

After Cleo is handed baby Link, the married couple connect in a hug, aware of the child between them, while their lips connect in another way for a goodbye kiss.

"Have a good time" Cleo smiles with all the strength that she can muster up to send her husband away, just hoping that each subsequent fortnight is going to get easier and easier.

"I will. Now make sure you call everyday and send me every picture and video you take of the little guy, okay?"

Cleo nods, while Lewis quickly presses a final kiss to his wife's cheek before moving over to the airport staff who are growing visibly impatient with the lingering passengers who are taking their sweet time to say their goodbyes, like Lewis.

As she watches Lewis leave them, Cleo tries to ignore the crater of tears that are welling up like in her eyes as she stands there waving with one hand, while holding her son a little tighter than she had been with the other hand.

"I love you" is the final thing that Lewis mouths to Cleo before walking through the boarding gate, the moment of embarking his plane nearing closer and closer.

It's too late for Lewis to see his wife's reply, to read her lips when she repeats what he's just mouthed, adding a " _too_ " to the end. But it's too late.

By that time, he's gone.

* * *

Later that same night, Cleo's body is physically wired, tossing from side to side and back and forth, just as her mind is.

For a new mother, sleep is sacred and getting to sleep is usually the easiest part of her day. However, this is not the case tonight as Cleo's restless thoughts and worries race through, churning within her mind as she worries about everything involving Lewis and Lincoln.

Eventually Cleo caves into not trying, extracting herself from her lonely bed as she ventures over to her son's cot.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she rhetorically asks aloud to the speech-less infant who is contently lying on his back, wide-eyed as he kicks his legs around until his mother picks him up. "Are you missing your dad too, mister?"

Cleo asks her second question without expecting a response as she rocks her son within her arms, trying to settle Link so that at least one of them might get some sleep.

"Oh well. I miss him too, but it's just you and me for a while, little man" Cleo whispers to the settled infant who is lying in her arms, content and completely dependent on his mother. "But don't worry, I've got you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

* * *

 **So, now that they've made a decision, how will that decision pan out for Cleo & Lewis with his new job? Will they be able to make the on/off long distance?**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: Bella struggles in the wake of Will's secret, while Will finds himself confiding in Zane. **

**Around 80 reviews and the whip will be cracking for me to post the next chapter. XD**


	6. Suddenly, Everything Has Changed

**Hey there readers! Finally we have a new chapter, marking the beginning of one of Will & Bella's big storylines for this story.**

 **Anyway, enjoy and R &R! xx**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: Suddenly, Everything Has Changed**

"It's cancer, Bella. _I've_ got cancer."

Will flinches as those words depart from his mouth, the realisation striking him once again.

He initially looks away from his fiancée before his gaze quickly returns to her. Wanting and not wanting to see Bella's reaction resembles watching an accident. As much as you don't want to see the event play out, you simply can't tear your eyes away.

"No..." quietly escapes Bella's lips as she looks around the room, the depth of her breaths increasing rapidly as her world crumbles around her. "No. You can't have. No, that's not right."

Will tries to grasp one of her delicate hands, knowing that they'll have to share the role over the coming months, but right here and right now it is his turn to be the strong one.

"There was a melanoma; a skin cancer. It's spread. I got a second opinion, too."

He can see the heartbreak in her eyes as she blankly looks ahead for several minutes, breaking his own heart. He doesn't push, he doesn't say a word. Instead, after a few minutes of silence pass, Will tries to draw closer to Bella. The movement makes her instantly escape from her thoughts, returning her to the room where she's just been dealt the blow.

While Will tries to pull her into a hug and a supportive embrace, Bella has other plans as her breathing escalates rapidly again and she flees to her bedroom without another word.

Will Benjamin has always considered him as a good guy, or at least, a decent one. He has never got any joy out of messing with people's lives as his best friend Zane Bennett used to relish. However, in that moment, Will Benjamin learns _exactly_ what it feels like to turn someone's entire world upside down.

* * *

After Bella had left Will and left the room, he didn't bother pursuing her, knowing that she'd come out when she was ready.

That time finally comes almost an hour and a half after her initial flee.

Will's attention is captured from the moment that he hears the click of a door being opened, as Bella slowly exits her room, looking no better than she did when she entered it earlier that night.

Slowly she approaches Will where he's seated at her dining table. Watching her body language, he meets her halfway where the two reach each other in the middle of the room for a long, lasting hug.

Finally, the couple separates as Will gently leads them to her lounge. There, they reconvene their attachment, cuddling together in silence before Bella speaks again for the first time since her initial denial of her fiancés diagnosis, in between her discreet whimpers.

"Will? Is this why you proposed to me? Is getting married just something for you to tick off a bucket list?"

Since Will's confession, hundreds of questions have flooded Bella's mind. However, the one she asks first is not the most important to her, nor is it the question that she wants the answer to most; it's just the easiest to hear the answer to. At fear of what his answer may be, she can't bring herself to ask how bad Will's condition is, so potentially hearing that her engagement was induced from Will's health crisis is easier.

"No!" Will says, instantly reassuring Bella's thoughts as he grabs her hands and earnestly answers her, although he cannot blame her for raising the question due to the ill-timing. "Marriage is not just something on a to-do list for me. I didn't even know about the cancer then."

Searching his eyes, Bella is easily convinced of her fiancés truth. She's known what it is like to be proposed to just for a purpose and looking into the eyes of _this_ husband-to-be, she knows that the proposal had not been borne from the wrong reasons.

This time, she pursues a different question as she begins to ask all of the questions that Will had been expecting to hear from her at one point or another, apart from the big one.

"So how long have you known, then?"

There's a sigh before he answer's his girlfriend's question. "I noticed the mole about a month ago; I've got Allie to thank for that. I was diagnosed two weeks ago."

"Allie? What do you mean by that? What made you realise it?"

"About a month ago, on that really stormy day, Allie and I were playing dot-to-dots together. After a while, she got bored with the paper and decided that she wanted to dot-to-dot _my_ dots – the freckles or sunspots on my arms and legs. She pointed one mole out on my arm and said it was an ugly dot. Before she brought my attention to it, I could never really remember noticing it there before. Not long after that, I noticed a photo from a year or so back and that mole wasn't there. So, I went and got it checked out and, yeah..."

Before the questions conclude, Bella has one final, hard hitting question that she's been mustering up the courage to ask since being told of her fiancés cancer diagnosis. As much as she wants to ask the question and hear that it might not be that serious -just a small op and some checkups- she well knows that it could go very much the other way.

"Will? How bad is it?"

Will had been hoping that Bella would forget the question he didn't want to have to answer for her. Or, better yet, he wishes that he could give her a completely different, better answer.

"Honestly, Bels, it's not looking good. There's still hope, but apparently there's only a small window of opportunity."

Sitting up and moving away from Will, Bella takes a deep breath, inhaling and digesting the news that it is neither as good as she hoped or as bad as she feared.

"I'm going to bed."'

That night, it broke Will's heart to hear her cry herself to sleep.

* * *

As a part of preparing to tell Bella, Will planned for the fact that they only need to collect their daughter from their mutual friend's later in the afternoon; which is not for another few hours yet. COnsequently, he'd planned a breakfast-for-two to not only lift both of their spirits, but also to discuss how they can and should handle the curveball that has been thrown at their lives.

So, the next morning, Will and Bella find themselves at their favourite cafe, sitting opposite one another on a secluded table, away from the noise and the other patrons, in their own little world within the establishment.

Looking worriedly at his fiancée who is blankly staring out of the window, watching the happenings of the outside world, Will slides his hand across the table to take a hold of Bella's.

"How are you doing?"

The familiar touch and soft voice jolt Bella from her absence, bringing her back to the here-and-now in the cafe.

"I'm okay" she says simply giving Will a convincing smile. "You?"

Will just nods at the question, before taking the conversation down a different and a much harder path.

"So, my doctor's told me I'll need chemo every week. I don't want that to stop Allie staying with me, but we may need to play it by ear a bit. She doesn't deserve to go through and see that if it knocks me about a bit."

"Mm" Bella quickly and quietly responds, before taking a sip of her latte.

While Will waits to see if she adds anything to her initial response, the two fade into silence, before Bella picks the conversation up again and leads it in a different direction.

"Did you get a copy of the note thing about the parent's day that we have to go to for Allie next month? Are you free? I've already asked for the day off."

While Will plays the game and lets her know he's got the day free, he cannot help but sense the strong avoidance of a particular subject...The particular subject that the purpose of today is to discuss with her.

"Bella... Are you sure you're doing okay?" Will questions gently, not specifying exactly what he is referring to since both parties know for a fact that it is about the difficult news he shared last night.

With a small smile and strong nod, Bella answers. "Yes. Really, I'm fine with it. It's all going to be okay."

Searching her eyes, Will can sense that he needs to take her response with a pinch of salt and that the answer does not completely reflect her mindset.

"Alright then... Bella, can we please discuss this in that case? The cancer, I mean."

"Nah" Bella quickly replies, scrunching her nose up and declining the question which was not meant to be an offer. "So, I've got some appointments for fittings and stuff for the girls and I. Have you sorted that out for you boys yet?"

"Bella..." Will warns his fiancée, not responding to her question.

Looking up, her attention piqued at her name, Bella replies to Will, before carrying on with the alternate topic of discussion.

"Yes? What about the wedding reception? I know we couldn't decide between a few, but which place do you think we should book? We really need to lock one in."

"Come on Bella. I don't really think that the wedding should be our focus anymore right now."

Bella sighs, with an "I guess so". Finally, Will thinks that he has gotten through to his fiancée, her stubbornness and outright refusal to discuss his diagnosis... until she speaks once again.

"What about living arrangements, then? That's important. The wedding's zooming up. Personally, I think you should just move into my apartment with Allie and I. The share house isn't really the place for a family, Will."

Despite Will's glimmer of hope that Bella would finally accept discussing the cancer which she is more than clearly avoiding, that hope is diminished as she once again picks up with a different topic.

"Bella... That's not what I meant. And you know it. As for the living arrangements, we can talk about that when it gets closer, but I really need to talk about the cancer first."

In the moment and in a last ditch effort to avoid discussing the inevitable, Bella recalls the topic of conversation that she'd had with Tam when she'd been asked if she thought that they would have another child. It is the last card up her sleeve as her house of cards falls down in front of her, but Bella blurts it out anyway, holding onto hope, denial and the future.

"So do you think that you'd want to have another baby? Tam asked me, and I told her I thought you would."

As soon as she utters the question that is in a very different domain to their current situation, Bella regrets it.

Will knows the answer to the question, Bella knows the answer to the question that she'd posed to her partner and Will knows that Bella knows the answer too.

"I'm really sorry..." Bella eventually whispers. The brief and silent nod Will gives her in return does nothing to stop Bella's guilt over the heartbreak she identifies in his eyes across from her.

"You know what? Forget this. I was hoping that I'd be able to have a mature discussion with my fiancée about this, but clearly _not_."

"I'm sorry Will. I really am sorry, but I'm not ready to talk about this yet, okay? This time yesterday, the only event that was on my radar was a _wedding_. I'm sorry if I'm struggling with the possibility of planning a _funeral_ being thrown into the mix, too."

Bella abruptly stands up and quickly flees from the table set for two, wishing she could leave behind the completely terrifying big C word that has made its way into the couple's perfect life, threatening it all.

* * *

"Hey mate" Zane welcomes upon Will's arrival home to the share-house. It's the first Will's been home since he and Bella's date night where he'd dropped his personal bombshell.

"I thought you were supposed to have Allie tonight? I was totally keen for a Snakes and Ladders rematch with her to redeem myself from last night."

Will pauses before replying to his friend, he **_is_ ** supposed to have his daughter tonight. However, given the bomb that he'd dropped onto Bella in the last day, he half-expected and completely could not blame her for taking Allie for comfort and company, to help her forget the news he'd dealt her.

"Yeah, I was, but something came up. I'm assuming Bella picked her up?"

"No, mate. Sia dropped past to collect her. You and Bella should probably learn to communicate your daughter's whereabouts better."

The fact that there is no degrade after his comment –no ' _shut up_ ', no ' _get stuffed_ ' and no ' _what would you know about communication_?'- instantly triggers Zane's concern, looking over to Will. The lack of objection is out of the ordinary and is the cause of alarm bells.

"Is everything okay, man? Trouble in paradise?"

The reply that Will fails to give increases the volume of the alarm bells in Zane's mind to the point that he actually pauses from what he is doing to look at his friend, firstly ensuring that he is still in the room with him and secondly, that he hasn't just dropped dead.

"Will? What's up, mate? You're kind of freaking me out a bit."

"Cancer."

The one worded reply that Will gives does nothing for Zane's current anxiety.

"Cancer sucks? Cancer should go die in a hole? The Government should put more money into researching cancer? What _exactly_ about cancer, Will?"

There's an urgency in Zane's voice. He wants an answer about why exactly his best mate has brought up the terrifying topic of cancer and he wants to bring it to a halting stop. Will's next seven words do just that – for all the wrong reasons.

"I've got it. _Cancer.._. I've got cancer."

The room falls to a silence. It takes Zane a good thirty seconds to move at all, before he instantly rises from his seat to be by his best friend's side.

"What? Are you serious? What type? How bad is it? You're gonna be okay though, yeah?"

"Why the hell would I joke about this, Zane?! I wish it was as easy as a joke... It's skin cancer. At this stage, it can still be beaten and treated, but it's not going to be an easy battle. Apparently it's quite malignant and there's not a big window of opportunity."

Despite a few less tame words going through his mind, "Bloody hell..." eventually slips through Zane's lips.

"Tell me about it..." Will replies as the two eventually collapse on lounges within the room. Zane falls into the seat at the completely unexpected news about his friend whom he hadn't even realised was sick before just now, let alone fighting for his life. At the same time, Will too falls into the seat at the emotionally draining experience of having to share his unfortunate health news with someone else. So far, just telling Bella and Zane has been difficult and painful enough. He still has his parents, his sister, other close friends and hopefully not, Allie.

"How are you holding up, mate?"

Will sighs, considering the pain which he has been enduring since his cancer diagnosis and the fact that the pain has been anything other than physical.

"Honestly? I feel fine. Never better, even. That makes it hard to realise the fact that I'm in a fight for my life. The hard part is when it comes to my girls."

Zane scrunches his face up, despite looking a little spaced out currently.

"How do you mean that?"

Will sighs, falling deeper into the safety of the lounge as he plants his hands in his face at the reminder of what he is afraid of.

"I don't care what _I_ have to go through, but I would do _anything_ not to have to put Bella and Allie through this, too. Just telling Bella was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life and I am absolutely petrified by the thought of Allie having to grow up without a dad."

The fears that Will confesses to his best mate, his confidant when he can't burden his fiancée with this thoughts, are only just the tip of the iceberg.

Deep within, Will Benjamin is terrified by the fact that he may not be there for his daughter's first day of high school. The fact that he may never have fights with her and send her to her room, or, death-stare the first boyfriend she brings home to meet her parents. Not to mention the fact he may not be there for the best day of her life, to give her away. Right now, that day in his own life is under question of even being met with the love of his own life. Then, there is the thought of having to leave Bella, without having spent a lifetime together.

"You're competitive, Will. You've got that on your side. You can fight this, but Bella and Allie? They're the reason you've got to make sure you win."

* * *

 **Poor Will... And Bella... At this stage, neither of them are really dealing with it, let alone each other. Surely they'll be able to pull through though... Right?**

 **Now, I know that Will's skin cancer resembles Luke Mitchell's other character, Romeo's, skin cancer storyline but that wasn't my intention. Initially, Will was going to have a different sort of cancer, but I decided to try and raise a bit of awareness by choosing skin cancer. You see, in Australia and I'm sure in many other countries too, skin cancer is young persons cancer. I know that I for one have made regrettable decisions and have been negligent in being sun smart in the past, but it's more important than a lot of young people realise.**

 **Next chapter: Things are going down for Rikki  & Zane when she makes an announcement in the worst way possible, before making matters even worse...**

 **I'll update again at around 85 reviews :)**

 **... New cover! Woo!**


	7. Crash Course In Conversations

**Hey guys! Finally an update! I was hoping for this to be up earlier in the week, but life's been a bit busier than expected. Anyway, it's here now! Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. Thank you so much for the positive feedback. Dealing with an issue as sensitive as cancer can be daunting, but I'm so glad for the feedback. It's going to be one long, heartbreaking road ahead for Will & Bella.**

 **Before we get started, I want to say a MASSIVE thank you to the lovely Marrilyn who has made the new cover for this story! Isn't it awesome?! She's amazing. In fact, I looked it up this evening and I believe she was the second reviewer of my first story on FanFiction, ever, way back in 2010!  
**

 **Also, in between now and the last chapter, did anyone else hear about the accident at Dreamworld? It's just awful... Four people dying, in front of their kids/other family on one of the 'safest' family rides?! It's just truly terrible and it hits close to home when you've been on that ride with your own family. You might remember I actually mentioned Dreamworld just a few chapters ago when Will & Bella took Allie in chapter 4. So sad for the families involved...**

 **On that cheery note, onto the chapter...**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Crash Course In Conversations**

One foot in front of the other and then back in front of the other foot, again and again and again.

During and then since his stint in jail, Zane had been encouraged to look for other outlets for his anger and other ways to deal with feelings that he doesn't know how to. Along the way and in that time, he has found an interest in exercise as a positive outlet.

Since his conversation with Will just yesterday, Zane has found himself on the treadmill far more than he has in weeks, even months.

Life isn't fair. Not only is life not fair, it's just downright _cruel_.

This is the thought that has been flooding his body, at the forefront of his mind and enraging his thoughts over the course of the last day. Needless to say, as his wife enters the room, hoping to speak to him alone, it is one of the worst times that she could try to reach out to her husband and engage in a serious conversation.

"Zane, can we talk?"

"What are we doing right now, Rikki?" there's a twang of annoyance in Zane's voice to go along with his sarcastic remark. The combinations of the words, along with his tone are hardly all that appealing or inviting for his wife to continue speaking.

Along with a sigh, Rikki simply tells him to " _Just forget it_ ", before leaving the room as quickly as she had entered it.

After Rikki leaves the room, she leaves her husband to continue to stew over the news of one of their closest friends which he has been keeping bottled up. In addition to the news itself, he keeps the rough way that he's taken and reacted to the news bottled up too.

It isn't fair. It isn't right. And Zane hasn't been quite the same since he found out.

The injustice of it all has been eating away at him, his guilt festering.

Not only does he need to face the fact that his best mate is in a fight for his life, but the fact that he feels guilt has only made it worse. Why is Will being forced to fight cancer? The Will who is a better man, a better person than he is.

Will is the kind of guy that would take a bullet for anyone, while Zane has to face the fact and shelter his guilt knowing that he would be the one to rush to the sideline, gutlessly, to save his own skin.

Will has a family. A woman he intends to spend the rest of his life with. A daughter he needs to be there to raise.

So, one foot in front of the other, Zane has to deal with his rage, his guilt in a way that he is still new to. Unlike anyone or anything else that has invoked this same feeling and rage within him in the past, he has no one to hit, no one to headlock against a wall, no one to take his feelings out on.

* * *

Later that day, the group of four housemates are sitting together; with Rikki and Zane sharing a lounge, Tam sprawled out on the other, while Will is sitting cross-legged on the rug in the centre of the room.

Right now, the four appear to be about as brain-dead as a group of zombies, staring at the television screen watching infomercials blankly. While each member of the household's eyes are watching the screen, they are all concentrating on other matters that are whirling through their minds.

"Anyone want a drink?" Tam questions, being the first of the group to show signs of life as she gets up from the lounge she had been laid out on. Zane says yes to a beer, Will says no to the offer and Rikki doesn't respond until her sister adds to her question.

"Hey Rik. I'm thinking about having a Bailey's. Want some?"

Rikki scrunches up her face to the offer and shakes her head at her younger sister who just laughs back.

"No way... Rikki knocking back a drink! What's the world coming to?! You must be pregnant!"

The boys and Tam see the humour at the comment as the three chuckle along to Tam's own joke, until the mood of the moment is brought down seriously with just one comment.

"Yep, that's pretty much it" Rikki replies seriously with a straight-face and tone that the other three struggle to call her bluff on.

Knowing Rikki's penchant for sarcasm (as well as the fact that she has pulled their leg with a similar joke in the past), Tam, Will and Zane fail to react and they all hesitate to respond.

Sharing a look with each other, Will and Tam look to each other, appearing to be a press-of-a-button away from springing up like Jack-in-a-Boxes and congratulating their friend or sister. However, in contrast, Zane eyes reveal the fact that he is a press-of-a-button away from heading for the hills.

While Rikki turns back to the TV, Zane is the first of the group to speak or move as they try to gauge the seriousness of his wife's potentially life-changing statement.

"Rikki? Are you being serious? Are you really pregnant?"

"Yes I am. As I _tried_ to tell you earlier..."

Will and Tam's jack-in-a-boxes release them, with Tam pouncing on her sister in an excited hug, while Will patiently waits his turn to hug and congratulate his close friend.

Meanwhile, while Will and Tam instantly move from their seats to hug and congratulate Rikki, Zane flees from his seat also. However, he doesn't stop at fleeing from his seat, continuing to flee from the room and the house.

The hugs and congratulations are paused as Will, Tam and Rikki all wordlessly watch as Zane escapes the room, followed by another slam of the front door.

"Are you alright, Rikki?" Will asks consolingly, while Tam hugs her sister comfortingly.

Rikki just nods before rising from her seat. "Yeah I'm fine. It's nothing that I didn't expect from him. But I should probably go and follow that up."

With a sigh, Rikki leaves the room hesitantly, mustering up all of her guts and courage to confront her husband.

Zane is bent over on the front yard, appearing as though he has been winded by the news.

"You're pregnant?! You don't think that I should have been notified of that personally?!"

"I figured you wouldn't murder me if there were witnesses..." Rikki replies, with her feeble attempt on a joke. "I tried to tell you earlier and you completely brushed me off, so I just went with it when Tam raised the question."

Zane goes silent as he runs his hands through his hair before unleashing an almighty sigh. Trying to read her husband, Rikki stands back, several steps away from him hesitantly as she tries to read his thoughts about her news, beyond the obvious fact that he isn't taking it well.

"Is it mine? Or are you and Kyle having a nice little love child?" Zane eventually spits out unhappily, as though either answer which his wife may present him with will fail to appease him.

Rikki shoots him a venomous, unimpressed look as though there is no substance behind his accusation, all the while, knowing that she doesn't have a leg to stand on to fight his question that she doesn't want to face.

However, before Rikki has a chance to answer to her child's paternity, Zane speaks up once again, causing things to go from bad, to worse.

"Actually, you know what? I hope its Kyle's. Ironically, the both of you and your infidelity would be saving me from the kid."

Rikki knew that she couldn't expect Zane to be overjoyed with her news. She really didn't even expect him to take it well at all. However, there's taking news poorly, and then there's taking the news the way that Zane just has.

"That makes you and me both! Kyle or just about any other guy in the world would be a better and more responsible father than you."

"Whatever" Zane says, ensuring he has the last word, although he does not know _quite_ what to say to Rikki's most recent hurtful remark. As he utters the word, he storms off to the driveway quickly, jumping into his car and speeding off in a frame of mind that he is really not safe to be driving in.

Within the last few sentences, both Rikki and Zane had done what they do best to deal with being hurt; they hurt the other person right back. All the while, the damage and debris from the nasty words takes the issue at hand as well as their relationship from bad to worse.

* * *

There are two gentle knocks on the door-frame of Rikki and Zane's open bedroom door. Will's knocks are loud enough for Rikki to hear from her position on the bed, where her attention is poured out on the punnet of ice-cream she is devouring.

"Go away" Rikki sighs to her friend who knows better. Will knows Rikki wouldn't tell him to come him and she wouldn't say that she needs to talk to someone, even if she wanted to.

Ignoring Rikki's response, Will just walks into the room and takes a seat at the corner of the bed where Rikki is curled up, with a punnet of ice-cream and a spoon.

"Jeez. You're really in no position to teach your daughter about obedience."

"Have you heard from Zane yet?" Will asks, again ignoring Rikki's dig at his failure to adhere to her request.

Rikki just shakes her head in response and takes another spoonful of ice-cream.

"Rik, if you don't mind me asking, do you know who the father is?"

"Will, if this is your attempt at trying to comfort me, then no offence, but you kind of suck at it."

Rikki is silent and fails to answer her friend's question. So, instead of repeating the question, he just tries to help his friend feel a little better about her very messy situation.

"Listen, I'm not judging, I'm just asking out of curiosity, as your friend. Besides, one guy is my best mate and the other's guy's going to be my brother-in-law, so you've got my support either way."

Will sends a warm smile to his friend who just feebly tries to reciprocate the expression, before letting out another a sigh.

"And, don't worry about Zane. He'll get over it. I'm speaking from experience when I say that there are a lot of overwhelming thoughts and feelings that come along with the prospect of fatherhood, and we both know that Zane is not a stellar example in managing those."

"That's true, but part of me doesn't expect to see him again" Rikki replies with a downcast sigh.

Will shifts on the end of the bed, moving to clasp his friend's hand encouragingly and supportively, preparing to relate his personal experience to relieve her fear.

"Listen, when Bella told me about Allie, it was the worst feeling. I felt just about ready to take up a new identity and move to Mexico. In the moment, you feel terrified, suddenly responsible and you feel like that's the end of all freedom you ever had. The good news is that it doesn't take long after that to see the positive things about it and its even sooner that you realise it's all a major overreaction."

For the first time in the conversation, Will's words get through to Rikki and she cracks the faintest hint of a smile.

Beginning to feel as though he is on a roll, Will once again tries to bring the smile out from Rikki as he tries delivering her with more facts with the hope of being a source of comfort.

"Besides, I don't think he has taken the news that well. Honestly, I think he has reacted to it worse than Bella has. Mind you, that's not saying much considering her outright ignorance towards the issue."

For the first time in the conversation, Rikki has no idea what Will is talking about and Will has no idea that Rikki is ignorant to his cancer diagnosis.

"What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't told Bella about the baby so it's no wonder she hasn't reacted to it."

"I know that. _I'm_ talking about the cancer."

As Rikki fails to respond, Will puts two and two together. It explains a lot about Zane's bottled-up demeanour since told his friend about his cancer as well as about Rikki's oblivion to what he had been talking about. His friend hadn't shared the news which he thought that he would automatically tell his wife.

"Cancer?" Rikki's face instantly falls once again, especially seeing as the word had been used in connotation with some of her nearest and dearest. "What about cancer? Who's got cancer?"

"Me. I've got skin cancer..." Will explains with a sigh as he looks to the floor. By now, he has learnt from experience that it is better to avoid watching people's faces and reactions when you tell them bad news.

Putting her ice-cream and her spoon on the bedside table, Rikki shuffles away from her curled up position to wrap her close friend and her other friend's fiancé in a hug.

"I'm so sorry Will... Is it bad?"

Will prepares to explain the diagnosis for the third time, in the same way which he already has to his fiancée and his best mate, giving Rikki the same details as she sits there and quietly digests them before speaking up.

"That explains so much. I thought that there's been something up with him the last few days. That would be why."

Will nods solemnly and as the two fall to a silence, he stands up from his makeshift seat on the end of the bed.

"Anyway, hang in there. Zane will come round."

Rikki gives her friend an appreciative smile, before returning to her curled up position as he leaves the room.

* * *

Later that night, Rikki has barely moved from her same position that Will left earlier that day, where she is now settled and trying to sleep.

She doesn't even bother to check the time on the clock beside her when she hears the bedroom door creak open, before her husband creeps in and sits beside her side of the bed.

"Are you still awake?" Zane whispers softly through the dark of the night.

"No. No I'm not" Rikki retorts with a sarcastic hypocrisy.

Zane rolls his eyes in the dark, which thankfully goes unnoticed to his wife, before he changes the subject and asks something which really should have been one of the first things he said to Rikki after her news this afternoon.

"So are you, like, okay? You haven't been sick or anything?"

"I'm fine..." Rikki replies briefly without any detail, although she appreciates Zane's surprising concern.

However, after her two-word reply, the room falls to silence. Neither Zane, nor Rikki, apologises for their hurtful words earlier as the two sit in silence before doing some minor work at smoothing their issues over.

Eventually, Rikki speaks up, confessing her fears as well as the reason why she had announced her news so publicly and why she acted the way she did in her blow up with Zane.

"Zane? I'm scared. I'm pretty sure that the baby's yours, but you have to know that there's a chance it might not be."

Zane doesn't know how to reply to that. He doesn't know whether he wants it to be, but he also does not know whether he is relieved about the slight chance that he may not be set to become a father."

"Just rest" he replies simply, pressing a kiss to her hair, before standing from his spot sitting beside her on the bed, to prepare to go to bed himself.

However, just as he makes his way to the other side of the queen-sized bed, he is distracted by a vibration that comes from the wood on the dresser in their room.

Walking over to the dresser where both he and Rikki's phones are currently located, Zane goes to check the phones and whether or not it is his which has just received a message.

It doesn't take long for Zane to determine that it had not been a message to his phone, instead it had been to Rikki's. It also does not take Zane very long to determine the fact that the message itself reveals a whole lot more than just a few simple words.

 _ **Hey you. Saw this. It gave me a laugh, thought of you x**_

The message itself and the content are innocent as is the link which had been attached to the message. However, what is much more revealing is the sender.

The message is from Kyle.

The other man.

The man his wife had engaged in an affair with while he had been locked up in prison.

The man who may very well be the father of his wife's child.

The man who he believed his wife had not been in contact with since the affair transpired and especially since he had been released from prison.

Instantly, Zane sees red and not for the first time today...

* * *

 **Oh boy. One step forward, two steps back. Zane could have reacted better than he did, but then again Rikki could have found a better way to tell him than she did. Unfortunately, it just made it all that bit worse for them! Will they be able to overcome their issues and land on the same page? Time will tell...**

 **Next chapter: Lewis  & Cleo struggle to find a rhythm and routine when he returns home. **

**Reckon we can get to 100 reviews before the next update? I do! I'm going overseas at the end of the month so if we reach the goal I'll make sure I am able to update again before then!**


	8. When It Isn't Like It Should Be

**Hey, hey, hey!**

 **I am so freaking excited. I have just had my last day of work for nearly three weeks today. Tomorrow I am headed overseas, then when I get back to Australia I'm going to a concert and visiting a few other cities on my way back home. Then, when I do finally get home, I have 6 hours of Gilmore Girls to watch, after nine years of waiting! Life is pretty damn good right about now.**

 **Anyway, onto the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: When It Isn't Like It Should Be**

Two weeks fly by and it isn't long at all before Lewis is flying back into the Gold Coast after his first fortnight of many in Cairns.

When the couple meet at the same airport, near the same terminal where Lewis had left a fortnight earlier, it is more than clear which parent has been kept up in the nights with the newborn, and it's clear which parent had a energizing escape from beginning a new job.

As Cleo and Lewis approach each other with big smiles, to wrap one another in a warm, loving embrace, one half of the married couple appears fresh and rejuvenated, as though he has just returned from a tropical holiday, as opposed to the long-distance work trip that he had actually been on. Alternatively, the other half of the couple resembles the living dead and reflects the fact that she has not slept solidly, for any longer than four hours at a time, for the last two weeks.

"Oh I missed you" Lewis mumbles into his wife's hair during their embrace.

Cleo just nods in acknowledgement, feeling too tired to reply to her husband's comment which doesn't really need a response anyway.

Reflecting their varied energy levels, Lewis enthusiastically pulls away from their embrace to relocate, reaching his wife's lips for a kiss, while Cleo just manages to return the action.

The couple are interrupted by the unsettled grizzles coming from the pram that is directly beside them, where their newborn son expresses his need for attention in the only way that he knows how.

"My little man..." Lewis says in a sympathetic tone for his unsettled son, as he pulls away from his wife to lift his son out of his pram and into his arms.

Despite her tiredness and lack of sleep, Cleo smiles at the scene in front of her. It's beautiful watching her son and her husband being reunited after their longest period of time apart so far in Link's short life.

"Look at how much he's grown already, in just two weeks" Lewis sighs, showing the first sign of sadness since he arrived home at the fact that he had to leave his family to be able to pursue his dream job.

After the young father is satisfied with a sufficient amount of cuddling from his oblivious, now-dozing son, Cleo and Lewis take his bags and their own precious cargo and make their way out of the airport; collecting Lewis' suitcase on the way to the car.

While many hours of talking, catching up and filling the other in on each other's lives without their mate over the last two weeks lay ahead of them, right now, the two just enjoy their silence, peace and calm of being with each other. Despite the noise around them in the bustling airport they just appreciate the fact of being _together_.

* * *

"So tell me _everything_ " Cleo asks, sitting down beside her husband on their lounge, having just put their son down for his rest. "Even if you double up with what you've told me, I don't care. I just want to know everything."

Lewis smiles and pulls his wife into his arms, settling in and getting comfortable to detail his last two weeks in explicit depth.

"So the place I stayed was quite nice. Bit sparse and plain, but it was still modern and clean, so I can't complain. I'll probably stay there again for the next fortnight."

Cleo nods with a smile, encouraging her husband to continue speaking and to continue filling her in on his new job.

"So, for the job, I'm in a team of about six, while we're replaced by another team of seven for the fortnight that we have shore leave and get to come home. The team's great. We all got on really well, and we'd hang out after work for dinner and drinks. The work's great too. We alternate days in the lab and days collecting and examining in and around the water."

Lewis's infectious smile radiates off of Cleo's lips also, to a lesser degree, although still smiling at how happy her husband is and how his new job has made him.

Regaining a little perspective and ensuring that the conversation is not solely focused on him, Lewis turns a question back to Cleo, to gauge how she has been and how she has managed in his absence.

"So what about you guys? How did you go managing Link on your own? You must be exhausted..."

Cleo shrugs complacently in response to her husband's question, before she begins to elaborate on her answer.

"It wasn't too bad, other than just being tiring. Plus, I'm officially addicted to caffeine. Other than that though, it all went relatively smoothly and okay."

Lewis nods at her response, giving her an extra squeeze within their embrace, for all of the rough nights that she had to go through, caring for their son alone.

"Is he getting better at sleeping through the night and waking less though?"

"Yeah... One night he almost got too good at it."

Lewis scrunches his face up at his wife's unusual comment. Even for a genius, he can't quite determine what his wife means by their son almost being _too good_ at sleeping for the nightmare sleeper that he is.

"Too good...? What do you mean by that?"

"Well I had to take him to the hospital one night while you were gone. His breathing was a bit too spasmodic, then he was having these little gasps for air. It just completely worked me up thinking about SIDS, so I wanted to make sure that it was nothing too serious."

"Link was in hospital?! You didn't mention anything about that to me!"

Lewis's disapproval over the fact that she had hidden their infants hospital trip from him, made him see red, as evidenced through his high tone that is drowning in disapproval.

"I'm sorry" Cleo apologises as she takes a hold of Lewis's hand in her own. "I really am sorry, but I didn't want to worry you, if there was nothing to worry about. It ended up being nothing serious anyway, but I would've told you if it had of been."

With a nod and a small frown, Lewis acknowledges and accepts his wife's apology, seeing the first glimpse of a negative amongst the excitement of his new job.

"It's okay. But what was wrong anyway?"

"They said it's quite normal for newborns to have that, but to put my mind at rest, they just kept him in hospital overnight for observation in case there was anything to worry about or if they needed to put him on the oxygen machine to steady his breathing."

Lewis's face is still locked in a frown at the issue that his wife and son had been through without him and the fact it had been without his knowledge until this point.

"They didn't take blood tests or anything, did they?" Lewis adds to his previous questions about the hospital trip, his own worries coming to fruition as he realises the danger his son could be in and the dangers of what peculiarities could potentially be found in his son's blood.

Meanwhile, Cleo just shakes her head in answer to his question.

"No, of course not!" Cleo insists. "Just because I was worked up and upset at the time, doesn't mean that I lost my mind. If they tried to take blood tests, I would've made sure we left."

Lewis nods believingly, despite his initial uncertainty that his wife would have remembered the risk doctors and hospitals pose in the heat of the moment.

"Alright, sorry, I just wanted to make sure."

Cleo develops a frown that increases a little more with Lewis's latest response. Then, the combination of her overtired state and her frustration at her husband questioning her, Cleo reacts with a snippier comment than what's usual for her.

"Whatever, Lewis... I might not be a genius scientist and all that, but at least I know to keep our son safe."

The silence that follows one of Cleo's sharpest statements she's ever uttered in her life leaves Cleo to regret her words and leaves Lewis to worry that despite her words and despite her assurances, maybe everything isn't so okay.

"I'm sorry Lewis" Cleo apologises pleadingly. "That was really harsh."

Lewis just nods simply, still a little lost for words.

"I _really_ am sorry. I'm just so overtired and that just slipped out. Don't hate me..." Cleo pleas to her husband once again.

"It's okay. But really, are you sure you're okay? That sort of thing is out of character for you, Cleo. I'm worried about you."

Cleo nods insistently and convincingly at her husband.

"Really, I am fine, I'm just very tired. So, if you wake up to Link in the night and let me have a sleep-in tomorrow, I should be good as gold and back to normal by tomorrow."

Although Lewis agrees to the 'miracle-fix' idea, he can't quite commit to the idea that it is only tiredness that is behind her change of attitude since his arriving home after spending two weeks apart.

However, despite what he may think or any inkling that he may have, Lewis has nothing concrete and nothing clear-cut that suggests his theory is anything other than fiction and anything other than his tendency to overthink things.

* * *

Despite her total and complete tiredness, Cleo can't sleep.

She can't deaden her mind, her thoughts, her worries. She just can't put her thoughts to bed for long enough for her to be able to sleep.

Feeling the movement in his bed with extra sensitivity having become accustomed to two weeks of sleeping on his own, Lewis is awoken and takes note of his wife's constant tossing and turning in the dark, dead of night.

"Are you okay, Cleo?"

"I'm fine. My mind's just running a bit wild."

Again, Lewis has no concrete evidence and nothing conclusive to support his theory of something being wrong, but he still can't put the thought to rest.

Just as Cleo's are, Lewis's thoughts are just worries... He _hopes_.

* * *

 **Don't you just hate that feeling when you know that something's up, but you don't know what, you don't know why and you don't have anything other than gut instinct to base it off of? That's where poor Lewis is at. How correct is Lewis's gut instinct? What could be up?**

 **Next chapter: Bella continues to struggle with her new reality, including telling Allie.**

 **I'll update once again when I get back and at around 115-120 ****reviews.**

 **Thank you so much for the support, guys.**


	9. A Lifetime Piling Up

**I'm back! Back in the country, anyway. I have been back for a while now, but it's just been hard getting back into it. Today was both my third day back at work since my last holiday and my last day of work for this year... Tough life! I'm just updating in between some last minute packing before I head off again tomorrow.**

 **Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. Sorry if I'm only just getting back to you today. I've been using 'I just got back from holiday' as an excuse for as longggg as I can... :P**

 **Ooh, in other news, I have started a couple of new stories recently to quench my thirst for creative writing since I've finished writing the Far From Perfection trilogy. Don't worry, this story still has over 20 chapters that are ready and waiting to be posted. BUT, if you have ever dabbled in or if you ever have any interest in dabbling in the ' _Gilmore Girls_ ' or ' _Now You See Me_ ' fandoms, I have started a stories called 'Piece By Piece' and 'The Jack, The Queen and Their Ace of Hearts', by the way...**

 **Keep well guys!**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: A Lifetime Piling Up**

Bella is set up on her dining table, working productively to make the most of her time without her daughter whom requires the majority of her attention when under her care.

Working away on her laptop, Bella's internet session is riddled with tabs, webpage's and searches:

 _Spring weddings._

 _Wedding trends 2017._

 _How many guests are too many?_

 _Honeymoon destinations._

 _Best florists Gold Coast._

 _Do you take your kid on your honeymoon?_

 _Weddings and problem relatives._

And lastly, the tab she is avoiding.

 _What to know about melanoma?_

As she glances at the 'M' word once again, Bella's chest constricts and her stomach plummets from within her, all over again. There's a good reason why she's avoiding that information.

Quickly she presses the little 'X' beside the internet page she wants to face the least, wishing it is as easy to delete the issue from her and her fiancé's lives as it is to close an internet tab.

Instead of facing the hard reality, Bella goes back to her daydreams of planning her dream wedding, a day that represents happiness, hope and the future – everything she is holding onto, believing the second she accepts the cancerous diagnosis, she loses any chance of holding onto that.

... So, she doesn't.

Once again, she puts the reality of her life to the side and prepares to flee from any need to confront the overwhelming, but currently suppressed, prospect of what Will's cancer _really_ means.

While some people think that planning a wedding is hard or challenging, it really is nothing compared to accepting the fact that your world has been turned upside down with knowing your partner's fighting cancer.

* * *

Later in the day, just as Bella has sorted and finalised a few aspects of the wedding planning, there is a knock at the door.

Although she is expecting her fiancé and daughter to come over soon, she knows that it is unlikely to be the father-daughter combination waiting at the door. Will and Allie aren't supposed to arrive for another hour or so and when they do, Bella knows that Will has a key to her place, eradicating the need to knock on the door.

Looking through the peep-hole of the door, Bella instantly opens it as soon as she sees the blonde curls –not even a face- on the other side of the door.

"Hey Rikki, how are you?" Bella greets as soon as she opens her front door.

Seeing the smile on her face, Rikki is almost a little set back by her friend. She expected tears. She expected depression. She expected anything other than her friend to appear as though life is peachy.

"Bella. Hi. How are you?"

"I'm good. Come on in. And how are you?"

Moving away from the door, Bella moves through to the kitchen and turns the kettle on (although there is not much need), while Rikki trails a few steps behind before the two take a seat together on Bella's lounge suite.

"Um, yeah, I'm okay too."

Bella smiles expectantly at her friend, almost as though she is waiting for a reason as to why she is acting so oddly, or as though she waits for her friend to provide a reason behind her unanticipated and unplanned visit.

However, a brief silence ensues between the two, with neither girl acting as the other is expecting them to.

"So, um, I came to see how you are going. Will told me about the cancer... I'm really sorry, Bella" Rikki finally says, explaining the reason behind her visit.

Bella just nods. She hasn't quite worked out what to say in response to sympathy just yet. You can't really say ' _oh that's okay'_ when it's really _not_ and she has found it too odd, too accepting to just say a simple ' _thank you'_.

"So are you okay? How have you been going since you found out? You know that I'm here for you if there is absolutely anything that I can do for you or Will, or Allie too."

"Thank you. And I'm fine" Bella quickly replies with a gritted smile.

Seeing the force behind her friend's smile, suspecting there is more to it beyond her insistence that she is 'fine', Rikki decides to change the approach of her comfort, with the aim of helping her to get through the trial that has come upon two of her best friends.

"You know that you can do this, Bella. I'm sure that Will is going to be okay. You're one of the strongest people I know. You're strong enough for the both of you."

Despite her previous total calm, her previous facade and superimposed smile, Rikki's words set her friend off as her reaction reveals how Bella is _really_ coping when she isn't preoccupied with compressing reality.

"No! No I'm not!" Bella hysterically replies, looking at her friend as though she is possessed. "I'm gutless Rikki! I'm completely gutless! I always have been! I took months to get away from Dan and now I refuse to accept that Will's got cancer!"

As soon as she has yelled her frustrations out and as soon as her reaction is off her chest, Bella is instantly filled with regret over her reaction which undoes all her effort at trying to persuade her friend that she really is okay.

"I'm sorry Rikki. I shouldn't have shouted. I've had a bit of a stressful day with a few issues to do with planning the wedding and all that. Do you think that we could meet up a bit later or tomorrow instead? I'm not really in the right head-space for company."

Rikki is more than a little set back. While she knows that her friend can get fired up and become adamant when she's insistent, she always knows how to control herself; a trait which Rikki admires. However, Bella's little crumble defies her usual controlled reaction in situations. Not to mention, she has never known Bella to **_not_ ** want company and even more so, not wanting to talk.

However, Rikki doesn't question it, fearing her visit and her attempt at comforting her has already done more harm than good.

"Alright, of course... Let me know when you're up for talking. Hang in there, Bella" Rikki says as she gives her friend's shoulder a comforting squeeze, before standing from the lounge and taking her leave, but not without making a mental note of how odd the visit had been...

* * *

"Hi mummy!" Allie giggles and beams, rushing inside the second that Will's key to Bella's apartment opens the door, allowing the five year old to race over to her mother.

Enveloping her child in a warm hug, Bella gives Allie an extra squeeze for her own personal comfort, for reasons that are well beyond her daughter's knowledge.

"Did you have a good time with dad?" Bella checks, pressing a kiss to Allie's hair before looking over to Will, knowing that he'd use the answer to silently convey his own response to the question too.

"I did! But hold on mummy. I've just got to check my room and make sure that my Barbies weren't mean to Mr Ted again" Allie announces seriously as though it is a very real threat and a very real issue. She releases herself from her mother's embrace and races off to her bedroom.

Watching her daughter run off happily, Bella simply releases a sigh as her heart breaks. Today, she and Will (mostly Will) had decided that they are going to try and explain the cancer in child terms to Allie.

Allie's at an age that she might not be able to fully conceive concepts and grasp the full understanding of difficult issues, but she _is_ at an age where she is aware of change and she is aware of feelings – especially those of her parents. She might not be able to understand the cancer, but she will be able to notice it's impact on her family.

Neither parent _wants_ to do it, but both parent knows that their daughter needs to be given a reason as to why her world will be changing over the next few months.

She needs to know why she might spend a bit more time with her mother than her father.

She needs to know why everyone might get a little bit sad and upset now and then.

She needs to know why her father is sick and that just because he might not be able to spend as much time with her as normal, it doesn't mean he loves her any less.

Will and Bella had borrowed a picture book from the library that is supposed to explain cancer best to children. They'd decided to make it a bit of a family afternoon, having Allie's favourite snacks beforehand and watching her favourite movie afterwards to soften the impact.

However, despite all of their plans and all of their intentions to tell their daughter, Bella finds herself frozen to the spot from the moment that Allie races off to check on her toys.

"We can't tell her, Will. She's just a little girl. I can't damage her carefree and happy childhood and shatter her world of innocence. I don't care how hard I have to try to keep things the same in front of her, but I'm willing to do it."

Will too had initially thought that it was for the best to at least try and warn Allie of the upcoming changes that will no doubt affect her life also. However, remembering the change in his best friend after explaining the same news to him and even more traumatically, Bella's reaction upon telling her, Will is opting for the option of not turning another loved one's world upside down. Most of all, not his little girl's, when he is supposed to be her hero.

Consequently, as soon as Bella calls quits on the idea, Will too finds himself not too far behind in backing the option to pike out.

"I think it's important to keep her spirits and innocence up for our sake, just as much as hers."

Will nods in both acknowledgement and agreement of Bella once again, before changing the course of the conversation to assess Bella herself.

"Okay, we won't say anything to Allie unless we really have to... What about you?"

Bella scrunches her face up in confusion at Will's abstract question.

"What do you mean? What about _me_?"

"The last time we spoke about the cancer, I didn't think that you'd really come to terms with it yet. So how about now? How are you feeling about it?"

Before Bella has the opportunity to reply, Will takes his fiancées hands in his own to hold onto her supportively as the two move a little closer together, hoping the closeness will help encourage her to answer more honestly.

"I'm fine about it, Will" Bella replies insistently, mustering up an attempt at a smile to try and convince her partner of her words.

However, as Bella should expect, Will sees straight through her facade, not only in her words, but also by reading what her face tells him. Looking closely at his fiancé, once again he doesn't see any emotion, any fear. Bella's eyes are just blank and devoid from emotion about the issue.

"Bella... I know everyone copes in different ways, but are you sure that you've really faced this yet?"

"Yes! Like you said, everyone copes differently. You can't doubt that I'm not coping just because I'm trying to keep everything together for Allie!"

Will sighs and begins to protest, before their daughter comes racing out of her bedroom with delight on her face, interrupting her father in the process.

"Guess what?! The Barbies were nice to Mr. Ted this time! I think that they're going to be friends again."

Bella had sensed that a 'but' and a protest were coming from Will before Allie's interruption. With this in mind, she quickly changes the subject to direct the conversation elsewhere before Will finds an opportunity to return to what he had been meaning to say.

"So guys, do you want me to make you some lunch now?" Bella asks, effectively changing the subject as her daughter erupts into excitement at the mention of food; before changing her mind about what she feels like eating about seven times before Bella has even reached the kitchen.

However, while Bella's change of subject works for the most part, after his initial answer to her lunch question, Will utters one more single word regarding their previous conversation.

"Later..." Will says, sternly delivering a one-word warning, a reminder that he won't forget where the conversation abruptly ended and the fact that it needs to be revisited...

* * *

Despite everything that has been said with Will and despite everything that has been said with Rikki, Bella is still no closer to accepting, let alone facing, Will's cancerous diagnosis.

How is she supposed accept it? Accepting the fact that her fiancé, the love of her life, is fighting cancer seems like it will only make it real. It only means surrendering her unrealistic hopes to the harsh and heartbreaking reality of the situation.

How is she supposed to accept his diagnosis, knowing it means accepting the fact that she might lose him; that she might lose her perfect family?

Keeping it tucked away, hiding and denying the thought is easier than having to face it and the uphill battle that Bella knows the fight will bring with it...

For now, it is just easier to keep burying her head in the sand, focusing on the hope of a wedding and the prospect of a long life and happily ever after together instead.

* * *

 **Fun fact. I wrote this chapter SO long ago, that Bella's Google search 'wedding trends 2017' in the very beginning of the chapter was originally 'wedding trends 2015'. That's how long ago first wrote this chapter... :O**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: Things go from bad to worse for Rikki and Zane as they continue to struggle. Then, Tam reveals her secret... It's a whopper! Any guesses what Tam's hiding?**

 **I'll update when we hit around 130 reviews, but this may well be the last update for 2016. Maybe.**


	10. Deep Beneath The Surface

**I am so sorry that this wasn't up sooner. The end of last year was manic with being overseas, coming back and then going away again all within a month and I've really struggled with getting back into life and routine in the new year. Australia Day being in the middle of the week really knocked me too. You know, public holiday and then back to the real world and back to work a day after. Not fun. Especially not with sunburn and jet-ski bruises.**

 **Thanks for all the well wishes over the holiday period, by the way. I hope you had safe, happy and relaxing breaks, too.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: Deep Beneath The Surface**

Two smiles, a table for two and a shared dessert; the combination should result in a perfect date.

Indeed, as Rikki and Zane wrap up their lunch date with a shared dessert platter, to any stranger or onlooker, the date could be perceived as perfect and desirable.

However, those same onlookers and strangers are unable to see the suppressed level of issues between the husband and wife...

They are unable to see the damage done by Zane's abandonment of Rikki almost a year ago.

They are unable to see the damage done by Rikki's subsequent unfaithfulness and the wrong she committed with another man.

They are unable to see the foetus Rikki is carrying...The foetus which has barely even been spoken about between the couple...The foetus whose father is still in question.

Despite the underlying, unresolved issues and the deep-seated damage between the two, the couple still have a love, a passion for one another which comes to the fore in the date which remains superficial and civil for nine-tenths of it, until a dangerous topic is mentioned and raised.

"So what time did you get in last night?" Rikki asks her husband. After hiding away following the pregnancy-announcement-induced explosion between the two, Rikki stayed in the room and eventually fell asleep. While she had anticipated the worst and expected Zane not to come home, she had been surprised when he crept in later that night. The two spoke briefly, before he came to bed too.

"I don't quite know. Just after one I think."

While Zane initially leaves it at that, he remembers what he saw just before he went to bed and some part of him is urged on by the perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"By the way, your phone went off not long after I got in. Who on earth would text you at that hour?" Zane asks, seemingly just with curiosity. While he is curious, he is curious at what his wife's answer will be, not necessarily the answer to his question. He wants to know whether or not she will tell him the harder truth or test his naivety and pull an easier, but untruthful, excuse.

"It was just an automated Telstra message..." Rikki cringes as she trails off, uncomfortably, not liking the need to lie to her husband, but liking the alternative of the truth even less so.

Zane just gives his wife one sharp, but powerful look. It tells her that she hasn't succeeded in pulling the wool over his eyes and that she hasn't succeeded in avoiding the truth. And, most of all, his look tells her that he is not happy about any of it.

"I thought you stopped talking to him when we started trying to work things out. That's the second message I've caught you out on now."

Rikki sighs guiltily. As hard as it had been lying to her husband minutes earlier, she now knows that telling the truth would have been much easier path than first having to lie then still having to tell the difficult truth.

"I know Zane. I'm sorry for lying to you, but for the most part, I have stopped talking to him. He just sends the odd messages to me like that which you saw for yourself when you snooped on my phone, might I add. I haven't really initiated any communication with him since you and I got serious about working things out."

Zane swallows his anger with great difficulty, knowing the damage that allowing it to flare has caused in the past. Instead, he expresses his anger and his disappointment in an entirely new way... By asking the hard questions which call for the even harder answers.

"You say that Rikki, but why should I believe what you say when you literally just lied to my face a minute ago?" Zane asks his wife, but not necessarily seeking an answer. He wants to just put the question to her and let her suffer on the question and to see his dilemma.

However, while he leaves that question mark hanging in Rikki's court, Zane doesn't stop there. Instead, a new attitude comes over Zane as he asks an even harder question, with a new aggression presenting itself within Zane and his question.

"What was he like?" Zane asks without waiting for an answer to his last question.

"Excuse me?"

Rikki looks at Zane with enlargened eyes, balking at the question which she thinks he is asking, but clinging onto the hope that she got it wrong.

"Kyle. What was he like? I just want to know the sort of man that attracts my wife. I want to know about you two, and what happened."

Previously, and up to this minute, the affair has been a subject and conversation which has been completely, one hundred percent steered clear from, mutually from both parties since Zane and Rikki made the decision to work on fixing their marriage.

Until this point, the affair has _not_ been a topic of conversation which is barged straight into.

"I thought you forgave me Zane, but now I'm not so sure. Have you really come to terms with it cause generally when people forgive, they forget too. They don't want to know more about it instead" Rikki reasons desperately, deciding not to answer her husband's uncomfortable question directly.

Zane manages to calm himself enough for the two of them, reducing the aggression enough as Rikki's temper flares. It's enough to keep it at bay and to be able to continue with the conversation.

"Listen, I _have_ forgiven you Rik, I said I have, but now I'm just curious. I'm curious about what you saw in him and how the affair happened."

Rikki squirms uncomfortably as she lets her body language do the taking to express her discomfort at her husband's question and at the current conversation.

"Um, I don't know if I really feel comfortable talking to you about _that_ , Zane..."

Zane just shrugs bluntly, but nowhere near as bluntly as his words which follow the shrug.

"Well I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with another guy being with my wife, but hey, I didn't have much choice in the matter either, did I?!"

With a horrified gasp, Rikki's immediate upset and rage at her husband's insensitive remark sees her stand up from her seat opposite him where they'd been sharing a dessert. Instead, she gives him one nasty remark in response before she flees from her seat and from their date.

"Bastard. I knew you hadn't forgiven me. Screw you."

And just like that, Rikki, Zane and their marriage are all the way back at square one, all over again...

* * *

Returning home from her pear-shaped date is Rikki's first destination post-date with her husband. So, as she waltzes inside the argument is still understandably fresh and raw, something which her sister who is mid-way through doing some housework notices as soon as she walks into their share house.

"Rikki! Are you okay?" Tam questions as soon as she lays eyes on her sister, seeing her furrowed brow of distress and her sad eyes.

"Fine."

Tam's face scrunches up at her sister's short, sharp and shiny answer, struggling to calculate the facts. She knows that Rikki and Zane headed out for a date earlier that day and she knows that dates are supposed to be a positive experience. However, she also sees the look of upset on her sister's face and the fact that her brother-in-law is nowhere in sight.

"Are you sure, Rikki? Did something happen with Zane?"

"Nothing I shouldn't have expected. I married a jerk after all."

Again, Tam's face scrunches up even more. The last time she checked, Zane and Rikki had been somewhat on-side with one another as they strive to work on mending their marriage, but from what her sister is saying now, it sounds like quite a different story.

"Okay... I thought that you guys were trying to work on your marriage and all that."

"So did I" Rikki muses with an honest sigh. "But then again, I thought Zane was over everything that happened too... I just don't know much about anything right now."

Tam nods at her sister's surprisingly honest confession as she puts the vacuum cleaner down and strolls over to envelope her sister in a hug.

"Hang in there. It'll get easier, yeah?"

The two sister's just stand in silence until Rikki retracts from the embrace before her sister fires another question to her.

"So what about the baby? Where's your head at with that?"

Another long and deep sigh escapes Rikki's lips at the mention of the cherry atop her pile of other problems.

"Honestly, an unplanned pregnancy is literally the last thing I need. It's the last thing any of us need; me, Zane and Kyle... Honestly, I haven't made my mind up, but I really don't want to go through with it."

Despite her comfort and her reassurance that she had provided her sister, Tam hardens at her sister's most recent confession.

"Really? You're thinking to take the easy way out? _You_ of all people?"

"What do you mean?" Rikki questions, more than a little set back by her younger sisters seemingly strong viewpoint on the controversial issue.

Tam's body language changes a little as she becomes a little stronger and more sure version of herself.

"I mean it's just not really like you to take the easy way. I really think you'd be making a mistake if you got rid of it. You think it's just like a little undo button on your problems, but really I'm sure that it'll just bring you a whole new set of problems."

Rikki crosses her arms as a defence against the fact her sister had caught her off guard with her unexpected reaction.

"Well thank you for your unwanted opinion. I appreciate if you want to be an aunt, but it's _my_ baby and my decision."

"I'm sorry... But just promise me you'll really, seriously think everything through before you make a set decision, okay?"

The concern on Tam's face is evident and clear as she communicates the importance of her point to her sister effectively, although Rikki is still a little puzzled as to what part of the puzzle is missing.

"Okay... I promise you that much."

* * *

Later that day, Zane finally makes his way home, anxious as to what the state of his hot-headed wife will be upon his arrival into the share house.

"Hi..." Zane mutters feebly as he walks through the archway into the lounge room where Rikki is sitting watching a TV program.

Zane's greeting goes unresponded to coldly, so Zane speaks up once again before discussing what went wrong on the date.

"So... Are you home alone? Where are Will and Tam?"

"Will's at Bella's and Tam went to the shops."

Zane nods in acknowledgment of his wife's answer which means that the two are free to talk about the tough issues and answer the tough questions without interruptions from their housemates.

For the sake of privacy and remaining uninterrupted if either Tam or Will return home, Zane and Rikki decide to relocate to their bedroom to have the difficult discussion.

"So... Our date didn't go as well as it could have..."

"No, really, Sherlock?" Rikki retorts sarcastically at her husbands remark.

Zane sighs and runs his hands through his hair as a sign of frustration.

"Rikki. Can you please just drop the attitude? There's no way that the two of us can manage a reasonable discussion if we begin it in a snarky attitude."

While Rikki doesn't say or do anything in agreement of Zane's plea, she does silently agree with the point he is trying to convey, knowing that the two of them have no chance if they don't at least _try_ and maintain a civil attitude.

"So are you ready to apologise?" Rikki questions, propositioning her husband with a dangerous question. A question that essentially rejects her knowledge that they should try and be peaceable.

"Rikki..." Zane warns. "I'm **trying** here, okay. I am _really_ trying. I don't think I have ever tried so much with anyone or anything as I am with you. It goes against everything I stand for, I'm used to the mentality of replacing things rather than fixing them."

She just sighs and rolls her eyes. Rikki knows she shouldn't expect anything less than the typical rich-kid mentality that her husband has just confessed to. However, she finds his declaration that he has been trying hard quite debatable.

"Can you not roll your eyes Rikki, please. I know that I am so freaking far from perfect, but I am trying which is more I can say for you right now."

Just as Rikki's mouth flies open, ready to debate her husband, Zane stops her by continuing to speak.

"Sorry, that was harsh. But listen, my point is that if we're gonna have a kid together then shouldn't we be trying even harder to make it right? Well that's if it's mine."

Rikki is a little startled and setback. Her pregnancy is a topic which is avoided like the plague. Yet, here is her husband preparing to face the issue head-on.

However, in Rikki's pause, Zane continues to talk, where the conversation takes a turn for the worst.

"So, who _is_ the father?"

Rikki sighs and crosses her arms in front of herself, attempting to amp up the confidence in her body language as her self-confidence diminishes with her husband's hard questions.

"You know that I don't know... Besides, that's if there's even going to _be_ a father."

His wife's latest comment stops Zane dead in his tracks.

"What does that mean?"

Just as she sighs, Rikki begins to pace around the room a little. Both she and Zane well know what is being alluded to.

"Rikki... Tell me you don't mean what I think that means."

"I don't know Zane... I don't know anything! I don't know who this kid's father is and I don't know what is going to happen to it."

Zane looks at his wife, a little stunned. After the last few months that they've had, you would think that he is used to the shocks and surprises that life has to offer, but no, life is still getting kicks out of throwing shocks his way.

"Seriously? Don't get me wrong, I don't know if I want a kid now, or even ever, but I think you should at least talk about and seriously think through the options."

"Well really, it's my baby and my decision."

Rikki's statement is partnered with strong body language, crossed arms and a solid stance as she reiterates her rights.

"Okay. Well what about your lover boy? Are you even going to let him know about the baby at all?! I just don't think you should be making this decision on your own, Rik."

Rikki exhales a deep sigh, thinking of all the things she wants to say to her husband that she knows will only make things worse. So, instead, she throws her hands up in the air in defeat as she begins to flee the room.

"Just leave it alone. I can't talk to **you** about this..." Rikki says with a sigh of frustration as she walks off and out of the room.

* * *

Thinking that she has finally left the tough things alone, Rikki walks downstairs into the lounge room. As she hears movement, she realises that she hadn't heard neither Tam or Will return home.

"Hey Tam... What's wrong? Are you okay?" Rikki instantly asks upon the sight of her sister balled up on the lounge, crying over a small photograph she holds in the palm of her hand.

Just as her sister had comforted her earlier, Rikki returns the favour as she offers comfort and warmth to her visibly upset younger sister. However, just as she wraps Tam in a hug, she notices the picture she is holding, treasuring, within her palm.

A baby photo.

"What's that photo? _Who_ is that?" Rikki questions curiously, completely puzzled by her sisters seemingly random upset and her random photo.

As tears spill from her eyes, Tam looks up at her older sister, her source of comfort, as she contemplates revealing her deepest secret that she's held onto for far too long.

Finally, overcome with a surge of confidence and a deep breath, four words slip through Tam's lips.

"It's my son, Rikki."

* * *

 **Boom. There it is. I hope that one was a bit of a plot twist for you guys. A couple people thought that Tam might be pregnant, but I don't think that anyone guessed she has/had a child. The many, many unanswered questions about Tam's son will be revealed in chapter 12. Until then, I'd LOVE to hear your theories and speculation of where he is, who he is, is he even alive? Not to mention, who was her baby daddy? We're going to see a _very_ different side to Tam...**

 **Next chapter: After a chat with Bella, Cleo bumps into a familiar face. Plus, with Lewis away, Cleo struggles with suppressing her feelings.**

 **I'll post again at around 150 reviews. See if we can get it there - yew! **


	11. The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

**Chapter Eleven: The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows**

"Good morning, little man" Cleo smiles at her son as he beams from his cot, looking up to his mother.

Although Link has just awoken from his slumber, likely ready for his feed, Cleo's timing is not just a coincidence. No, this morning she found herself once again watching her son for far longer before he woke up.

During the time that Lewis is away and whilst she is still on maternity leave, Cleo has found herself becoming a little lonely in her abundance of spare time with seldom company aside from her baby.

However, although Cleo has quite a lot of time for herself, it does not mean that she is relaxed. No, the two are very, very different concepts.

 _Time to herself_ implies that she has few commitments to people, places or priorities. On the other hand, _relaxed_ implies that she has freedom in her life because of her circumstances and attitude. In Cleo's situation, one adjective is applicable, but not the other.

Just as she scoops her son out from his cot, Cleo hears a vibration from her phone which is a room away and charging in the kitchen at the moment.

Once she is holding Link, Cleo walks out of the room, using one hand to grab her phone before she settles on the lounge with her son.

The message is from her dad, but resembles messages that she has received from her mum, step-mum, sister and in-laws recently.

 **Dad** : ' _Hi sweetheart, how are you going? Just wanted to see if you'd like us to have Link for a while sometime this week to let you have some downtime on your own? How much longer till Lewis gets home this time? Hope you and Link are well. We have to catch up soon. Love Dad'_

Reading the message from her father, Cleo quickly constructs a message, giving her dad a similar reply as she has to every other family member.

 _'Hey dad, Lewis gets back next Saturday. Link and I are fine, thanks for the offer.'_

Deep down, one part of Cleo senses and knows that she should relinquish her control somewhat and allow others to help. However, being with Link has helped her to feel in control and to help her feel like she can keep her son safe from the abundance of worries that have been instilled in her from horror stories and mothers books that she has read.

She just looks down to the baby boy in her arms, pressing a kiss to his small amount of hair that has started to darken to a brunette that is closer to Cleo's. His big, bright blue eyes that sparkle with innocence are just like those of his fathers, much like the rest of Lincoln's appearance.

"We're okay. Aren't we, buddy? We don't need help" Cleo whispers to the baby in her arms, using her words to reassure herself just as much she is posing the question to the baby who is unable and incapacitated to answer.

* * *

About two hours pass and by this time it is nearing 10 AM. By now, Cleo is still well and truly in her pyjamas (and likely will be until the late afternoon before she has a chance to get dressed) and her only achievement so far in the day has been feeding and changing Link. So, it is suffice to say that when she hears a knock at the door Cleo is neither ready, nor prepared for a visitor right now.

She quickly puts her son in his bassinette, grabbing a dressing gown to throw over her pyjamas before opening the door.

"Hey Cleo" Bella greets enthusiastically with her hands full of items when Cleo swings the door open.

"Hi Bella..." the other women greets a little hesitantly, preoccupied with trying to determine whether or not the meet up had been pre-arranged and she had just forgotten, or, whether Bella has just dropped in for a spontaneous visit.

Seeing the vague look of her friend who does not look ready for a visit, Bella quickly jumps in to save Cleo.

"You forgot I was coming this morning, didn't you? Don't worry; I totally know what that's like!" Bella warmly mentions, trying to help her friend to feel a little better for forgetting their date that they had planned.

"I'm so sorry Bella... It _completely_ slipped my mind."

Bella gives a wave of her hand to shake it off, showing that no harm is done from her friend's newborn-baby-induced forgetfulness.

"That's all good. I remember what it's like having a newborn. So, I also figured that if you are anything like I was when Allie was that age, you probably haven't even had breakfast yet" Bella guesses as she holds up a large brown paper bag with one hand and a takeaway coffee cup in the other while entering her friend's home.

How her friend had managed to have herself _and_ her daughter dressed, ready, on her doorstep with food, already having dropped off Allie at school made her awe and see her friend in a whole other light. Cleo is slightly envious of her friend who seems to have already accomplished so much before it is even ten o'clock!

"Oh Bella, that is awesome. Thank you" Cleo says, appreciatively thanking her friend who knows exactly what it is like looking after a newborn on your own.

"Not a problem. Where's the little man? Do you want me to keep an eye on him so that you can have a bath? "Bella offers, gesturing to Cleo's dressing gown.

Cleo nods and the two walk to the nursery where Link is lying wide awake in his bassinette.

"That would be great. You can pick him up and have a hold if you like" Cleo smiles to her friend, a little reluctant to be leaving her son even just for a few minutes, but trying to appreciate her friend's efforts to help her.

Bella is two steps ahead as she already picks up and begins to rock Cleo and Lewis's son, awing over the fact that her own five-year-old daughter had ever been that tiny.

* * *

Cleo's bath had been as quick as possible, just as she tried to dry herself and her tail off as quickly as she could.

It's not long before she is back out to the lounge room where one of her best friends is playing peek-a-boo with her giggling son.

"That was quick" Bella comments before handing Link back to his mother who seems eager for a cuddle.

"Yeah, I didn't want to abandon you with the baby for too long" Cleo explains as an excuse.

Bella just smiles as the two sit in a comfortable silence before the conversation starts back up again.

"So how have you been? Has the wedding planning coming along well?" Cleo asks conversationally, attempting to reconnect with the outside world somewhat since she has become more of a hermit after the birth of her son.

At first, Bella doesn't reply. However, there is a flicker of a look that floods over Bella before she tries to construct an honest reply that doesn't give away too much; not wanting to unload on her friend.

"Yeah the wedding planning is okay. I've been fine."

Cleo's eyebrow furrows as she frowns just a little, detecting something in her friend. In putting so much effort into her reply, Cleo notices that Bella has lost her bubbly peppiness for a moment.

"Are you sure, Bella? What's wrong? Is something going on with you and Will?"

Bella exhales, briefly considering whether or not to dump her and her fiancés current trial onto her friend who seems to be dealing with enough with her husband working away.

"Well, our relationship is fine, but Will's not so good right now. He was diagnosed with skin cancer about a month ago and he's being treated for that."

Cleo's heart sinks and her stomach falls after hearing the bad news regarding her two friend's.

"Oh Bella... I'm so sorry. How are you both holding up? Does Allie know? Is it bad?" she sympathises supportively, trying to comfort her as she touches Bella's arm with her free hand.

There is an unmistakable look on one of Cleo's best friends face as they sit beside each other. She briefly looks distant and she looks sick to her stomach for a moment. She quickly recovers and returns to the moment, clearly trying to pep herself up with her usual bubbly persona, despite their serious conversation.

"Um, I'm fine and Will's as fine as he can be with the chemo and all that. We've decided not to tell Allie for now. His cancer's still treatable, but apparently it is quite advanced so he's on pretty strong treatment."

Cleo just sits there momentarily, sympathising for her friend on one hand, while simultaneously feeling thankful for the fact that it isn't her family or her lover going through that trial.

"I just don't know what to say..." Cleo adds in response to the details that Bella has provided as the other women just nods in response.

Finally, _there_ is a response that Bella appreciates; silence. She knows that people are only trying to comfort her when they offer their deepest sympathies or state how she and Will don't deserve to be going through this. Yet, try as they might, not quite any words can help her feel better as to what and how she and her fiancé are suffering right now.

With Cleo's silence, she doesn't have to thank her uncomfortably and she doesn't have to fake that the response has made her feel any better.

Instead of saying anything, Cleo just stands and puts her son in his bouncer, before wrapping her friend in a warm, wordless hug.

After the embrace ends, Cleo notices a change in her friend... It's almost as though she becomes a little detached and distant, with Bella proceeding to leave not all that long after telling Cleo.

While everyone has their own issues and dramas and problems in their lives, Cleo makes a mental note to keep an eye on her friend, since beyond the obvious, during the visit she has sensed that something is not quite right with Bella...

* * *

Later in the day and long after Bella left, Cleo found herself struggling with her own thoughts that have just been repeating and echoing inside her head.

Hearing about Will's diagnosis and his cancer today has just opened and unleashed a Pandora's Box, filled with worry and anxiety for Cleo. She just can't get her friends and their horrible situation out of her head, therefore making her worry about her own family.

Hearing the seriousness of Will's cancer and seeing how Bella was today, Cleo just hasn't been able to get it out of her head, thinking about how it may go wrong for her friends and what devastating effect that would have on their small family if Bella lost her husband-to-be and if little Allie lost her dad...

Despite having been a bit of a hermit and recluse since Link's birth, Cleo's one-track thoughts after Bella's visit finally urges her to muster up the courage to go for a walk; to get out of the house and out of her own head for at least a little while.

The walk and gentle exercise does good for the young mother and she decides to extend her walk, taking herself and her son whose in his pram that she is pushing along the boulevard path that overlooks the beautiful beaches of the Gold Coast.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh sea air and looking out to the rolling waves and the golden sand, Cleo appreciates that the change of the scenery and the walk is effective, and even enjoyable, until her little bubble is burst along the walk when she is jolted from her distraction-walk.

"Cleo?"

Cleo hears her name in the form of a question at a moment when she least expects she would hear it, coming from somewhere ahead of the same footpath she is on. She is on her own, walking the concrete of the boulevard, overlooking the beach with her son who doesn't speak one word, let alone his mother's name from where he is sleeping in his pram.

However, Cleo's attention is effectively caught from where she is consumed with thinking about Will and Bella after what Bella had spoken about earlier today, while she is just walking on autopilot.

When she snaps out of her trance, Cleo spots familiarity, in the form of a face that she hasn't seen in six or so years.

"Ryan?" Cleo similarly questions, looking to the man ahead of her who she hasn't seen since he mined the Moon Pool with Zane and Sophie around the time that she finished high school.

Perhaps if she and Lewis weren't a long-distance item and if she wasn't with Lewis, maybe, just maybe she and Ryan would have been a thing around that time... He was the only other guy that Cleo could ever even have imagined herself being with beside Lewis.

After the surprise of the unexpected meeting, Cleo slowly begins to note more details. Ryan looks more toned and older than when she had last seen him, which is enhanced when she notices the tribe of children walking with him.

The eldest looks around the same age and height as Allie who's five, with a toddler holding the little boy's hand beside the pram that Ryan is pushing, holding the baby that looks around the same as Link within it.

"Wow, it's good to see you. It has been what, five, six years? How have you been? What have you been up to the last few years?" Ryan asks enthusiastically at the chance meeting.

"Yeah it would be something like that... I've been good, thanks. Well, I'm still working at the Marine Park, just a higher position there, I got married about three years ago and I had my little man. What about you?" she replies, summarising her last six or so years, before politely asking the same in return.

Ryan looks down at his tribe of boys, figuring the answer to my question is reasonably clear before he goes into more detail in his reply.

"Well not long after I last saw you all I met my wife, Archer, and then we got married four years ago. I gave up my job in geology a few years ago and got a more stable, 9-5 job just before my first son was born. My job wasn't as important as being there for my boys is."

Cleo smiles at the proud father in front of her, the man who has clearly grown and changed from the ambitious and focused man she had met six or seven years back.

She doesn't think of her husband as any less of a father and she knows that it was a mutual decision that they had made together for him to pursue the chance of his dream job, but Cleo can't help but feel a tingle of sadness as she thinks of her absent husband in comparison to Ryan who had given up his dream job for his sons.

"That's lovely. What are your boy's names? How old are they? They're so cute."

"Logan's just turned five" Ryan says with a smile as he gestures to the eldest and tallest of the three boys who bears the least resemblance to Ryan with his blond hair and striking blue eyes.

Next, his point of a finger moves to the slightly smaller brown-haired child who is almost a miniature replicate of his father, just as the baby sleeping in the pram does.

"Then there's Flynn who is three and baby Billie has just gone six months. What about your little one?"

Cleo just smiles, before looking down to her content son who is just laying in his pram.

"Link... Lincoln is four months now" she replies as her smile increases a little.

Ryan just nods, before quickly glancing at his mobile phone as his eldest two sons talk to each other.

"It was really good to see you Cleo. I'm sorry I can't stay and chat longer, but my wife just messaged me reminding me that we've got to get home soon because we're going out tonight."

Cleo nods understandingly, before replying to him.

"Oh that's fine. It was good to see you and to meet your boys anyway. I'm glad you're doing well."

Ryan simply smiles, urging his eldest two sons to say goodbye and then walks off with the pram and two children walking along side him.

Thankfully, her walk and seeing Ryan had been just the distraction that Cleo needed today to escape from her negative thinking and her anxieties after Bella's visit when she'd told her the bad news about her fiancé and about Cleo's friend.

As she begins to walk home, she thinks about how she will have to tell Lewis about the chance meeting and how she had seen Ryan again... Before realising that the two had never met each other and that _really_ the only news that would mean anything to him is the fact that Will has cancer.

Suddenly, with a little sigh, Cleo feels that bit negative and she feels that niggle of worry again, deciding that given the fact that she doesn't feel in the right head-space to recount what Bella had told her earlier, she may not call her husband up for a chat tonight.

Cleo thinks that avoiding talking to her husband about the bad news means that she can process it and move on.

Instead, she doesn't realise that it just means that she won't be able to escape her own fears and worries that are building up, with no one to talk to and help her to abolish them, talking some sense into the worrier before its too late...

* * *

 **Finally! Another chapter's up.**

 **I'd love to see what you all thought of this chapter. What your thoughts on Cleo, Clewis, Cleo and Bella's chat and the fact that Ryan's back are.**

 **Next chapter: Tam explains all about her past and her son to Rikki.  
**

 **I'll post it at around about 165 reviews :)**


	12. You Gotta Go There To Come Back

**I'm SO sorry that this wasn't posted sooner. I haven't been well and the thought of proofreading a 4,000+ word chapter (that's basically just one scene!) was rather overwhelming! I'll try my hardest to get the next one (edited!) and up sooner.**

 **Also, there was a stack of guest reviewers on the last chapter, so I can't thank you personally, but I wanted to say a special, massive thank you for reading and reviewing anyway. But thank you to _everyone_ who read and reviewed the last chapter, anyway!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: You Gotta Go There To Come Back**

"It's my son, Rikki."

If it wasn't for the seriousness, the heartbreak, in her sister's eyes Rikki would have just passed off the shocking statement as a joke from Tam.

However, despite how serious Rikki believes her sister is and despite how solemn the mood is between the two, Rikki cannot do anything but stammer; trying to find words to express her shock, her confusion and her total, absolute puzzlement.

In the moment it takes for her sister to pause and stammer, Tam does not stay behind and wait any longer. She perceives her sister's shock in a negative, disapproving light. Her sensitive outlook is hardly surprising after having just shared her deepest, darkest secret moments ago.

Rikki falters for a moment, taking a few seconds to pick her jaw up from the ground and _attempt_ to process the shocking news that her sister has just confessed to her. However, as much as she may not understand the whats, whys or hows, Rikki puts her concern for her sister first. She forces herself to follow Tam outside, finding her within moments.

In the backyard, the younger of the two girls has balled up against the wall. Looking over to her sister that is holding herself, comforting herself as she falls apart, Rikki can imagine that this is not the first time that she has had to do that for herself in light of what Tam has just told her. After all, her younger sister is a whole lot more grown up than what Rikki had ever realised...

"Are you serious, Tam?" Rikki questions as she takes a seat beside her sister, using the outside wall of their share house as a backrest and the concrete ground as a seat. Although Rikki doesn't really question the genuineness of her sister's claim, her question is more so based on the fact that it is the only question that she can construct as she continues to struggle to find words and thought processes.

Tam looks up at her sister with bleary, red, moist eyes. The free flowing tears are just another reason that Rikki has absolutely no question regarding the truth of her sister's shocking statement of a few minutes ago.

"Do you really think that I would make it up? Not to mention, _why_ would I?!"

Rikki doesn't have an answer to the question that Tam poses since she never really felt the need to clarify the truth of what her sister is telling her in the first place. So, instead, the girls just sit in silence as Tam continues her self-comfort and Rikki continues with her disbelief.

Looking beside her and examining her sister who has pulled her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms around them to hold herself, Rikki has no idea what to say or what questions to ask. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know how to react.

Really, the only thing that is clear is the fact that her sister is completely upset. Distraught, even.

So, Rikki does the only thing that makes sense. She wraps her arms around her little sister, holding her tight as Tam sobs uncontrollably.

Eventually, after a lot of tears on Tam's part and after a lot of confusion on Rikki's part, the younger of the two breaks the relative silence between them and finally calms down to the point of being able to speak.

"What happened, Tam?" Rikki gently and quietly questions her sister as she strokes her hair out of comfort.

Just minutes ago Rikki had realised that her sister seems so much older than she is. But, now, having her hair stroked as though she's a little girl, Tam seems so much younger and more innocent than she is.

"I never held him. I never even touched him, Rik" Tam utters with a shaky voice.

Rikki continues to support and comfort her sister as she erupts into a stream of tears all over again. While Rikki is still completely dumbfounded and still no wiser as to what happened to her nephew that she never even knew existed before today, she also accepts that there will be a better time to determine all those details.

Even though Rikki knows next to no details about her nephew, she can determine some conclusions. After all, judging by what Tam has said and how she has reacted so far, her son must have been stillborn or he may have died sometime shortly after birth.

"I'm sorry. I can see why you were so sensitive about the thought of me taking matters into my own hands now, Tam. I had no idea that you would have experienced any of that when I said it, but I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child that way."

As the two sit together, a part of Rikki is calculating as she comforts. She calculates how old Tam was when they first met, guessing how much earlier she would have been pregnant before that... She would have been _young_. That is the only conclusion that Rikki can come to.

However, Tam obviously wasn't too young to experience what Rikki has heard described as being the greatest pain of all – the pain experienced in the loss of a child.

"I didn't just lose him, Rikki. I was like you, too. I had a choice. I _chose_ to lose him."

Rikki's face reveals the state of confusion that she is thrown into _all over again_. She had seen a picture of Tam's child, so she obviously didn't make the same decision that Rikki is considering at present. That doesn't explain how she _chose_ to lose the child that Rikki had assumed had passed away.

"The minute he was born, I gave him up for adoption. It all happened just before I moved here" Tam discloses to her sister after seeing the total confusion written on her sister's face all over again.

Rikki's immediate response to the sliver of new information that her sister delivers her with is to continue to calculate dates, years and ages as she had been earlier. When she first met her sister, Tam was _sixteen_. This leads Rikki to the conclusion that at Tam's young age, partnered with the fact that she had removed her son from her life and that she had never mentioned previous boyfriends, that what had happened may not have been legal, let alone consensual.

"Tam, what happened? Why did you have a baby? You weren't-?" Rikki begins to ask, but is unable to finish at just the thought of something that shocking and awful having happened to her little sister.

Instead, Tam just simply shakes her head, before elaborating on the situation in more detail.

"No. The pregnancy was my own stupid fault. It wasn't anything like that."

Rikki takes a breath of relief, although that confirmation is just a small dent of information that is resolved among the world of confusion that she is in.

However, while Rikki is preoccupied with her own relief, Tam is busy mustering up the courage to explain the truth... The truth of who she had been before she was the Tam that her sister met. To some degree, the old Tam -the person that she _was_ \- had been a part of the reason that her son had stayed a secret.

"Listen Rik, you need to understand that before we met, I wasn't always like the person that I am now. I learnt from it, but I made some pretty stupid decisions and I did some pretty stupid things."

Rikki looks at her sister squarely. She silently urges her to continue, all the while wondering exactly _what_ could be following her sister's explanation of her past in order to deserve a disclaimer such as that.

"Look, before I met you, I wasn't happy. I wasn't rational... And that all hit the fan when I was about 15, while I was recovering from the bulimia... I met a guy. I _really_ liked this guy. Like I've told you in the past, our mum didn't love me and I never knew our dad, obviously. Anyway, so I met this guy and I just needed that love. At first, he wasn't interested at all; he had a girlfriend at the time. But, I latched onto this concept of being loved by someone, so I pursued him. I told him I was older than what I was and eventually, in a moment of weakness, he gave in to me."

Rikki is _already_ struggling to retain the explanation and the concept of her sister being quite a different person. Then, with a deep breath of courage preceding it, she realises that that is not where the shocks ends as Tam adds to her explanation.

"And _that's_ how I know Ryan."

Rikki's mouth drops open once again. Determining the **most** shocking part of the last half an hour is almost impossible.

Not only is Tam's greatest secret a lot for Rikki to have to take in, it is even harder to understand when it sounds as though her sister was replaced by an evil, messed up version of herself when she was younger.

From the information that Tam has already shared with her, Rikki is able to start drawing some safe conclusions, although there is still quite a few answers left to hear as to what else transpired and exactly what happened to her nephew. Tam _knows_ that the full story hasn't been told and she knows that she owes the rest of it to her sister; she _wants_ to share it with her after holding onto it for so long. So, after giving Rikki a few more moments to digest what she has told her so far, Tam continues to speak.

"I was this stupid fifteen year old. You were busy becoming a mermaid at that age, while I was busy getting pregnant. The relationship -or whatever you could call it- between Ryan and I didn't really last that long at all before it ended and then his girlfriend took him back all before I found out that I was pregnant. Since I was too young and I was living in Queensland then too, I wouldn't have been able to get an abortion -even if I wanted to- so, I had the baby."

Tam slowly and discreetly looks down to the photo that is still resting in the palm of her hand... The photo which is beginning to get a little moist and crumbled by now... The photo which had spurned on this entire confession...

As Rikki continues to reel silently in shock, Tam no longer needs any replies or any encouragement from her sister before continuing to speak. By this point it is almost therapeutic and healing to finally unleash and release all the built up heartache and pain she has suffered alone, accompanying her deepest secret.

"By the time I told Ryan that I was pregnant, I found out that he and his girlfriend were already back together. They were a bit older than me, they offered and we all decided that they would keep the baby and raise it as theirs, as opposed to putting it up for adoption to a stranger. Really, that plan was fine by me. I was 15 – I couldn't be a mother. I barely even _had_ a mother."

Rikki's first real reaction and emotion in the wake of the shock is Rikki's first reaction to basically anything unwelcome or surprising in life. _Anger_.

Rikki wants someone to blame and she _needs_ someone to blame. And, based on what her sister has shared with her over the last few minutes, Rikki determines that that person can be Ryan. So, she begins to hurl some fiery accusations at the acquaintance whom she hasn't seen in roughly seven years.

"Who the hell does he think he is?! He cheats, knocks you up and then plays happy families with someone else?! Not to mention the fact that you were underage! How dare he just get away with that!"

In response to Rikki's sudden outburst, Tam is oddly calm all of a sudden. She doesn't even flinch as Rikki begins to explode in flames. Instead, she just gives her sister a calm response.

"Listen, Rikki. If you want someone to blame, don't blame Ryan. He's a good guy. I spent so long pursuing him and I only got what I wanted at his moment of weakness. I didn't want to raise him, but he's done the right thing by our son, so really I can't ask for much more from Ryan."

There's a pause in the conversation as Rikki processes what her sister is saying, not looking happy about it, before Tam continues to speak.

"Every year, he opens his social media accounts from private to public on Logan's birthday to allow me to see photos of him for one day. He promised he'd do that the day he was born. I told him that I didn't want him to and that he didn't have to but he still does every year. And _now_ , I finally appreciate him doing that."

Despite Tam's longwinded and thorough explanation, Rikki only has one word that she utters in response.

"Logan?" Rikki says, repeating the name of her nephew that she never even knew existed before today.

"Yeah... Logan James Tate... I never even knew his name until he turned one."

Suddenly, Tam goes quite. Rikki notices her sisters change in attitude and her sudden hit of emotion. After speaking and venting and releasing her secrets and emotion, Tam finally falls quite and begins to tear up at the name that Rikki can tell that she has not had to face often.

After minutes of tears and minutes of comfort, Tam finally speaks up again, preparing to give her experience meaning in relation to her sister's predicament; the predicament which had triggered the entire confession in the first place.

"Listen Rikki... You think that a kid is out of sight, out of mind. I tried. Essentially, I tried to 'abort' my son from my life after he was born. But, believe me when I say that it doesn't work out as well as you might intend for it to. Every _single_ day I think about him. I think about what he looks like, what he's doing, where he is, if he's safe and if he's happy. I have no doubt that an abortion would fill you with the same 'what ifs' of if you'd made a different choice. As soon as you're pregnant, you're pregnant. Nothing can erase that or erase the effects of your decision from there. No decision changes the fact that it has an impact on a life."

Rikki doesn't know what to say. It had been a whole lot easier to listen to her sister before she began to direct the moral of the story at her. So, she just continues to comfort her sister as she continues to cry. Until, Tam makes one final plea at her sister to learn from her mistakes.

"Please just promise me that you won't make a rash decision. Please, promise me that you don't think that getting rid of it is an easy, ideal way to make the problem go away."

Although Rikki makes a promise to her sister to silence her as she sobs, in her heart of hearts, Rikki knows that she has just made an empty promise.

As the two sit together, they are both reeling at the information that has been revealed over the last half an hour or so.

One girl is reeling that her deepest, darkest secret is finally out. The other girl is reeling because of that secret, especially considering what it then means for her.

Rikki can see the point that Tam is trying to make, but her predicament seems bigger than her sister's attempt to reach out to her.

Rikki's issue is not just the baby. In fact, the issue is almost even more so the baby's _father_. Whomever that may be.

Candidate one – Zane... Her husband. Rikki knows what his thoughts on the child are. Basically, he doesn't want her to get rid of it, but he doesn't want to have a kid either. Really, he wants the ammunition to hold over Rikki, without the responsibilities also. _Essentially_ he wants the baby to be handballed to Kyle.

This leads to candidate two – Kyle... Rikki's dirty little fling and her best friend's brother.

This is the same Kyle who is completely oblivious to the fact that at this stage there is a 50/50 chance that he may become a father, unless Rikki does anything to change that.

Of the two, in many ways Kyle is the better option - _aside_ from the fact that he isn't her husband...

Kyle is more experienced with kids, more family orientated and has a more nurturing nature overall. However, Rikki doesn't need to try hard to imagine the world of difficulty that she would have to go through to co-parent with Kyle, while married to Zane.

This is all without even considering another very important factor in the decision to be made - how _Rikki_ even feels about having a child or not. While motherhood and having a baby are not ideas that scream out to her, one thing that she does know is how much her sister has tried to reach out to her in the process of getting her to consider her options and avoid termination. Heck, Tam even revealed her deepest, darkest secret that she's held onto for 5 years in the process of trying to show her point...

To stop her train of thought, Rikki shifts the focus back onto her sister rather than herself

"Do you think that you'll try to reconnect or meet Logan? Do you want to?"

"I can't" Tam simply states, cutting her sister's question short. It's just the way that she has become accustomed to deal with any thoughts or feelings of her son over the past five years and she can't see that changing anytime soon...

* * *

Later on in the day, many hours have lapsed since Tam shared her deepest, darkest secret that she had kept to herself and held lock-and-key ever since the day that she had brought a little human into the world.

All of those hours later and Rikki is _still_ just sitting there processing and digesting the bombshells that her sister had dealt her.

In addition to accepting Tam's secret, Rikki is all the while trying to assess her own circumstances and make her own life-changing decisions that need to be made.

As time flickers by, along with all the thoughts and feelings that she considers within that time, Rikki remains seated; thinking and trying to define the undefinable. This is the state that Zane finds her in when he walks in. By this time it is dark,and late.

"Hey. Are you alright?" Zane checks and asks his wife after walking in the door and dropping his belongings all in one fluid motion. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I wouldn't take it quite that far yet, but I _have_ found out that I'm an aunty."

"Oh you've only just realised that? Aw, I don't know if Allie or Bella would be more offended if they heard you say that" Zane retorts, referring to the fact that Rikki and Cleo have always been Allie's unofficial aunties.

"Not Allie, Zane. I'm literally an aunty. A flesh-and-blood _aunty_..."

Zane's eyes search Rikki's as he sees the seriousness in his wife's orbs, especially when she hadn't come to the party in terms of his attempt to be humorous.

"I have a _nephew_ that's Allie's age. Tam has a son."

"What? How is that possible?" Zane says, all the while mentally checking that the date hasn't fallen upon the first of April without his noticing. "What? So you're saying she has a what, four, five year old? She would've only been-"

Zane's wife cuts him off before he has a chance to do the basic calculations.

"-Young – exactly..."

"Seriously though, _how_? If that's true, how come we only know this now, after three or four years of knowing her? And if she has a kid, where the hell is he?!"

"She gave him up to the father after he was born and I guess she's always just tried to leave that behind her. And, you won't believe that we know who the father is."

After all of the news that his wife has dealt to him so far, Zane is sure that he could hear anything and believe it.

"It's Nate, isn't it? 98% of children in the Southern Hemisphere _must_ be attributed to that guy, I'm sure of it."

"Um, ew, give my sister a bit of credit. No, it's not Nate. It's Ryan Tate."

Zane silently mouths the name which Rikki has just mentioned, as Zane looks a little vague and uncertain.

"Ryan Tate?" he repeats again before the memory of an email from five or so year's earlier jumps to the forefront of his mind. " _Oh_ the Ryan who helped wreck Mako, Ryan? Yeah?"

Rikki just nods as Zane begins to look a little distant, striving to connect the jumble of pieces that combined to form his sister-in-law's past.

The current conversation and the current topic is the perfect opportunity for the pair to relate the discussion to their own situation. It is something that both of them think about, relating the relevance to themselves and their predicament, but it is something that neither of them raises at the prospect of the can of worms that the topic may unleash.

Instead, both Rikki and Zane stubbornly side-step the issue and ignore the relevance to themselves and to Rikki's own pregnancy.

Between suppressing one issue and digesting the other, for a moment there is a brief message tone from a mobile phone as the two fall to silence.

With both halves of the couple knowing that they have different and separately identifiable ringtones, both Rikki and Zane are quickly able to deduce that it is Zane who has received a text message.

He quickly takes a peek at his phone screen in a flash, before just as quickly shoving the phone away from sight.

His behaviour goes down as being perceived as unusual and questionable in Rikki's book, so she gently tries to question his odd manner.

"Who was that?"

"It's no-one" Zane quickly retorts, feebly uttering the universal code and excuse that translates to either one of two meanings: either, ' _I don't want to talk about i_ t' or, ' _I don't want to tell you'_. Either way, it has piqued Rikki's curiosity.

While the offending text message has raised Rikki's suspicions of what her husband does _not_ want to talk about or tell her, the same text message acts as a reminder for Zane.

"Oh by the way, that reminds me. I'm going out tomorrow night."

Another warning bell goes off in Rikki's head. A warning bell, along with about another ten questions that she wants to raise, but knows that she has no right to.

Where are you going? How is that an 'oh by the way'? Who is that you're seeing without asking if I want to come along too? What on earth is it that you are up to? Why aren't you telling me the full story? What was with hiding that text almost as though you want to ignore it in front of me?

... These are all questions that flood through Rikki's mind, but remain in there.

Despite all the alarm bells that are sounding within her and despite her suspicion, Rikki realises that she has absolutely _no_ right to question her husband whom she cheated on just months earlier.

However, the one big lesson that Rikki learns is that trust is not so easy when the shoe is on the other foot. That's for sure...

* * *

 **Well that one was a big one! I actually wrote this one way back, but I remember that I spent so much time planning Tam's backstory and so much time plotting this particular chapter before I wrote it out so I hope everything was nice and clear.**

 **Now, a couple of people had guessed that Ryan and Tam were affiliated, but I'm interested in what you all thought of the revelation that they're parents. What will Rikki decide about her own baby after hearing her sister's story? And, who is Zane meeting up with?**

 **Next chapter: Will and Bella tell his parents about the cancer, giving them more reason to fear Will's fate. Then, Will begins to realise how much Bella's suppressing her feelings.**


	13. Places You Have Come To Fear The Most

**As-per-usual, I'm am so, SO sorry that this isn't up sooner. Life has been really flat-chat and rocky and I was thrown a few curve-balls. Honestly, I was been struggling a bit for a while there and life wasn't all that great. But, I'm getting there now. Thanks for your patience. I'll endeavor to have the next installment up sooner. Since this chapter is over 4,000 words, the thought of having to sit down and proofread it became a little overwhelming.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most**

Today is a noteworthy day for both Bella and Will for several reasons.

While Bella couldn't escape work during the business hours of the day to support him, Will had yet another chemotherapy session at the hospital. However, after their individual activities earlier in the day, the couple are planning to leave their daughter with their friends who would pick her up from school. Then, Bella and Will have planned to visit his parents for the afternoon, with a very specific, unjoyful agenda.

Will has already told his one and only sister of his cancer, which had been as easy as it could be. After all, since Sophie is away and will be out of the country for the next few months, he had just called her to tell her of his news. While it was still _difficult_ , it was considerably easier because of being distanced from his sister as he told her the hard news. He could only _hear_ her reaction and what she chose to utter, rather than seeing her face fall as Will had done with his fiancée and his friends.

Today, he knows he will have to experience a very similar ordeal as when he told Bella about his diagnosis, telling two more people who will be heavily impacted by the news; his parents.

Today is the day when Bella gets an early minute at work so she has enough time to get to the hospital and wait by the time that her partner has finished his treatment for the day.

Leaving the hospital, Will looks pale, sickly and she can't see the usual spark in his eyes. Bella _knows_ what cancer is, she _knows_ what effect it is having on her fiancé and she _knows_ the stakes that are resting on him being able to fight it. However, despite all of her knowledge of Will's medical condition, she still can't completely wrap her head around it.

"Hey. How did you go? I'm so sorry that I couldn't get the time off to be with you today. Next time I _promise_ that I'll have to come with you" Bella explains with her loyalties as a fiancée and a lover outweighing the fact that she was scared witless about the idea of having to see it and at the risk of making it real. In fact, just quietly and not that she would ever admit it aloud, Bella has been far from disappointed about the fact that she has been unable to get time off from work to go with Will to his last two chemotherapy appointments.

"It was fine... I guess I had about as much fun as you can have when you're sitting there having chemicals pumped into your body."

Bella releases a small, almost silent sigh. She doesn't know how to reply to that and she doesn't know if she even wants to. So, instead, she takes a moment to focus on getting out of the hectic hospital car park and back out onto the main roads before changing the subject altogether.

"So, are you sure that you're still up to seeing your parents today? Don't push yourself if you don't think that you are."

Bella's eyes momentarily scan the passenger's seat beside her where Will is sitting there looking like death warmed up.

"Yeah... I have to do it. I might not be feeling a hundred percent, but to be quite honest, I don't think I will be again for quite some time."

Bella's stomach churns. Will's brutal honesty has been the exact polar opposite of Bella's denial that comes as a result of her difficulty to face the reality of the situation.

"Okay... If you insist" Bella simply replies and continues driving on course to the home of the people who would be her in-laws within a matter of months.

"Was Allie alright when the others picked her up this morning?" Will asks regarding the couple's daughter who is being babysat by their close friends.

After all, consideringt hat Will and Bella had planned to make a little road-trip out of visiting his parents, the couple had decided to stay away from the city for the evening while Rikki and Zane were planning to look after Allie at Bella's apartment.

"Yeah, she was fine. You should have seen how excited she was for Rikki and Zane to drop her off at school and for them to see everything there."

A small smile passes over Will's lips as he stares out the window of the moving car thoughtfully.

"Maybe those two could be cut out to be parents after all."

"Well that's if the baby's even Zane's..." Bella reminds, both she and Will knowing that there's a chance of Rikki's unborn child being Bella's niece or nephew.

Will doesn't say anything in response; he doesn't quite know what to say to that, so a silence settles until Will opens up with a new topic of conversation.

"Oh, by the way, there's some other news that's hot off the press in the share house... Tam has a son."

The massive news that Will has just dealt Bella was perhaps not the best to do so while she is driving.

"A son?! What? How? How old is he?"

"He's the same age as Allie. I wonder if they go to school together? She had him in her teens. Would you believe that the father is that Ryan guy who worked along with Zane and Sophie back in the day."

"Okay, wow..." are the only two words that Bella manages to choke out with her focus stolen from concentrating on driving as she processes the bombshell that her fiancé has just dropped on her.

Once again, the car falls to a comfortable silence. Bella continues to process Will's gossip, while he rests back in his seat, starting to feel a surge of the side-effects of his chemotherapy treatment from today.

Noticing him squirming in seat uncomfortably, before reaching for a bottle of water, Bella steals a quick glance over to Will out of concern for him.

"Are you okay, babe?"

"Yeah, I just want to get my parents over with..."

* * *

Finally, after a long drive and a solid dose of peak-hour traffic, the couple arrives at the Benjamin's Byron Bay home.

Not too long after learning of their granddaughter's existence four years back, Will's parents had decided to relocate and stay closer to Will, knowing he wouldn't be moving around too much now that he has Allie. However, just because Will's parents had found a more permanent home after years abroad, it does not mean that their reason to stay-put was to be near _Allie_ as much as it was to be near _Will_. Much like with Sophie, Allie is not a warm topic of conversation with Will's parents, nor is she the most idolised grandchild; thankfully the polar opposite attitude that Bella's parents have towards the same five year old.

After all, to the Benjamin's, Allie stood for everything that Will had given up when he decided to end his diving career, before learning he was a father not much longer after that.

Standing out the front of his parents house, Will exhales a deep sigh before sizing up his parents home and even more so, the people within it.

"Are you okay?" Bella asks her partner from where she stands at his side beside him, giving his hand a little extra squeeze of reassurance. The two are holding hands, as though putting on a united front.

Will just simply looks over to Bella, responding with an unconvincing nod of affirmation to her question before leaning forward and pressing the doorbell to alert the home owners of their arrival.

"Will! Bella..."

As the front door is opened by Michelle, Will's mother, there is a noticeable difference in the tone how the two names are uttered. The male is greeted in an excitable and welcoming tone, while the female beside him had her name spoken in a tone that falls short of enthusiastic and welcoming, whether that is intentional or not.

While Will wraps his mother in a hug upon greeting her, Bella does her best to sound enthusiastic and happy to see her mother-in-law, although her feelings are a little hurt by Michelle's failure to hide the fact that she isn't Bella's number one fan in general and particularly not as her sons fiancée.

"Ah, Will, Bella."

The fourth voice that joins the trio in the front door greetings is far more neutral as Will's father Grant welcomes the couple who he hadn't heard arriving.

After hugs, pleasantries and small talk is exchanged between the four, they slowly move through and progress further into the house, namely the lounge room, where they all take consecutive seats and both Bella and Will decline Michelle's offer of a drink.

"So why didn't you call to let us know that you planned to pop in for a visit? And where is that granddaughter of ours?" Will's mum asks the couple, almost as though sensing there is _more_ behind their visit than simply just a coffee-and-chat.

Will and Bella exchange a glance with one another. The eye-lock encourages Will to confront the reason behind the visit and prepare to deliver the news to his parents that doesn't get any easier to tell with any amount of practicing.

"Two of our close friends have got Allie for us until tomorrow. But, we actually have an agenda behind our visit. There's something that I need to tell you both."

Before Will proceeds to speak, his mother fidgets in her seat uncomfortably at all the potential things her son could be finding difficult to tell them, while his father looks far less concerned, sitting further back in his seat as he jumps to conclusions.

"Oh good grief, Will... Why on earth did I bother to give you the 'staying protected' part of the talk?!"

Both Bella and Will share a look of confusion as they become a little sidelined by the exclamation that is _way_ off of the truth. Then, Will is the first to recover from the statement and to jump to both he and Bella's defence at his father's wrong guess.

"Um... _no_. No, that's not what I have to tell you. Bella's _not_ pregnant again."

With a snide smirk that resembles her daughter Sophie's, Will mother simply utters her two cents worth that reveal a little more about her _true_ reflection of Bella.

"Oh, of course, that's right. Bella doesn't actually tell you when she's carrying your child, does she?"

The harsh remark leaves Bella fuming and Will defensive, both looking ready to jump in and reply to the statement before Will's father is quick to intervene and keep the conversation going and civilised before it turns completely pear-shaped.

"So? What is it that you've got to tell us then?"

Just like ripping off an unpleasant bandaid, Will is quick to utter the incredibly difficult three-words that he has already seen deliver pain and turmoil to others around him.

"I've got cancer."

In the wake of the announcement, each individual in the room reacts a little differently.

Will's father Grant sinks back in his seat a little, visibly processing the comment. On the individual lounge seat beside him, Will's mother Michelle's face visibly loses colour and pales. Across from the older couple and beside her fiancé on the love-seat that they are sharing, Bella simply looks to her shoes. Meanwhile Will is trying to block out the reactions in front of him, having experienced the interchange of pain after telling some of his other loved ones his news already. Little does he know that for the women beside him, no matter how many times she hears the very same statement from Will, it doesn't sink in anymore than the last time she heard it...

Then, as soon as his parents have processed Will's news enough to form responses, an onslaught of questions quickly follows.

Among the questions that his parents raise regarding the type of cancer, the severity of his diagnosis, what treatment he is using, whether there has been any improvement so far, how long he has known and how long he's been treated for; his mother begins to pale more and more with every question and answer.

Eventually, Will's mum reaches breaking point, standing up as she rushes out of the room.

"I'll go" Bella utters to Will and his father who both looked ready to jump up and follow her out until Bella beats them both to it.

Walking around the familiar home, it doesn't take long for Bella to find her soon-to-be mother-in-law.

"Michelle? Are you okay?" Bella sheepishly asks as she approaches her fiancés emotional mother as she tries to gain composure from her quaking tears.

"I'm just _fine_. Hearing that is just one of every mother's worst nightmares" Will's mother says as her shaky voice rasps.

Bella simply nods solemnly. She has often had worries and nightmares that involved Allie being sick, so she can appreciate what Will's mother is saying to her. However, it is not that much better when it is your _fiancé_ who is sick, instead.

"I know. I'm so sorry, but he's going to be okay."

"You can't say that! You don't know that he will be okay, Bella!" Michelle snaps at the younger woman, before continuing to fire off at her when she had only tried to provide some comfort. "Listen, Will's uncle, my brother, he died when he was a year or so younger than Will. From the exact same cancer! It's up to you if you're all la-de-da about it, but _**I** _ have to realistic."

After Michelle's outburst that reveals all of what she is _really_ feeling, she manages to control herself and calm herself down. Meanwhile, right next to her, Bella just remains silent, digesting what she has just been told.

"No... I can't think like that. I can't give up hope while he still has a chance" Michelle adds. It doesn't take her too long after her initial outburst before she gets a hold of herself and begins to calm down.

However, for Bella it is too late. It is too late to stop the fact that the latest revelation has only accelerated and multiplied her fears by a thousand.

It's only becoming harder and harder for her to suppress the reality of the situation in the way that she has been ever since she learned of her fiancés cancer...

* * *

Leaving his parents house, Will notices the fact that his mother latches onto him in a goodbye hug for slightly longer than she normally would, while the man-hug between Will and his father lasts just those few seconds longer than usual, too.

As the couple walks back over to Bella's little car, she slings her arm around her fiancés back in an action which pulls them closer together as their bodies connect, walking side-by-side to one another.

"How are you holding up, babe? Are you okay after all of that?"

Will simply exhales deeply. "I'm fine... It's just so hard seeing the damage that what telling the people I love most about the cancer does."

"It'll be okay" Bella says simply, however her words of comfort are for herself just as much as they are for Will, believing that she won't let it be anything other than okay.

Meanwhile, Will just nods solemnly as they get in the car and leave his parents house. Although a dampener has been put on their day after what has just needed to be done in telling his family, but now the two have the rest of the day to spend together with their daughter being babysat.

* * *

After leaving his parents' home, Bella and Will have the remainder of the day and the first half of tomorrow to spend together and without their daughter until they have to release their babysitters. Consequently, in advance, the two had made the decision to stay down the coast near his parents home and rent out accommodation for the night rather than drive all the way back to the city today.

So, making the most of their destination after the road trip down to Will parents', Bella and Will are settled down on a seat that overlooks the famous lighthouse at Byron Bay, along with a takeaway dinner that they are sharing together.

While Will is busy providing the conversation for the couple, discussing a plan of attack for the future in managing and fighting his cancer and the best ways to do so, he begins to notice that the girl beside him seems absent from the discussion. Instead, Bella just sits there nodding enough for him to continue talking. However, she is not really contributing, nor does she seem engaged in the discussion as she plays with her food using her plastic fork.

"Bels? Are you listening? What's up?" he eventually asks, putting the discussion he had been carrying to the side for now.

"Yeah, I'm listening. Nothing's wrong."

The first few times that Bella had made the exact same claim over the last few weeks, Will believed her. He would believe her and he wouldn't make an issue of it. But, deep down, every time and just like now, he _knows_ that she isn't listening... He knows that she doesn't _want_ to listen.

Finally, the penny drops for Will. After every time that he thought he knew better and after every time that he has ignored his gut instincts, the truth of just how poorly Bella is coping with his sickness finally becomes clear to him.

"Bella..." Will begins to say, putting his food to the space on the seat beside him before resting Bella's cheek and jaw in his hand. "You really haven't been coping with me being sick, have you?"

"I'm fine, Will" Bella just forces a weak smile and denies it, just as she has every other time that Will has questioned her over how _she_ is, when _he_ has been their main focus of late.

While Bella's answer is just the same as every other time, Will's acceptance of her forced answer is not.

"Bels, obviously I have no idea what this experience is like for you, supporting me and staying strong for our family, but I feel like you're just on autopilot. That's not like you." What Will _doesn't_ tell her is the fact that he feels like her autopilot response has distanced them from each other somewhat.

While Bella is momentarily set-back at just how well her fiancé has hit the nail on the head, she quickly bounces back and continues to try and dodge the issue.

"I'm _fine_ " she simply repeats as she takes a different approach to distracting him. She puts her food down beside her, as Will has already done, before moving even closer against him, pressing her lips to his.

The two share a few kisses, until Will pulls away, remembering the urgency and importance he had felt about having this conversation with Bella - **now**.

"Not now, Bella. We can do that later. There are things we need to talk about right now."

Bella settles back into her position on the seat sheepishly, knowing her attempt to avoid the inevitable had failed. While she doesn't say anything more, it doesn't take Will much longer before he does.

"I know you, Bella... I know you've been trying to soldier on, but I also know that you're not coping with my cancer. I know everyone copes differently, but it scares me a little bit because I feel like my being sick is affecting our relationship."

In one of the very few instances in her life, Bella doesn't know what to say to that. So, she just remains silent. She remains silent until Will's next statement shocks her enough to speak.

"Bella, I know this whole cancer thing has rattled you, but it _has_ made me wonder... Do you still want to marry me? Are you having second thoughts?"

Bella briefly gapes at his question that she hadn't been expecting.

"Of course I still want that! I know that I have been struggling to accept the cancer, but what do you want me to say?! Do you want me to tell you how I don't want to talk about it because I'm absolutely terrified of the idea of losing the love of my life? Or, how I don't want to talk about it because I'm terrified that my daughter will lose her father?! Or, do you want me to tell you how every time that I hear about your cancer or every time that I speak about it, it doesn't mean that it has sunk in anymore, at all?!"

By this point, after getting wrapped up and being overcome with her emotions for the first time since Will told her about his diagnosis, Bella is standing up and pacing in front of the bench that she and Will had been sharing.

Seeing the truth of how Bella is coping, or **not** coping so much, in the little snippet that she opened up to him, Will sees the chance for a role reversal after all the support she has tried to give him, while _she_ focused on soldiering on over the past weeks.

Will stands up and wraps his fiancée in a warm, comforting and loving hug as he keeps her closer in his arms, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Hey. Hey... It's okay. _We'll_ be okay. _I'll_ be okay... But, we need to work together to get through this. We need to talk and we need to lean on each other."

Despite the little breakthrough in this moment, there are still a lot of buried issues lying in the couple's different ways of coping with this trial and the different ways that each of them are managing.

Both of them are aware that the cancer has been pulling them apart from one another. But, neither of them really knows how to deal with helping the other to cope... They don't know what to do and they don't know the best way to support each other. It is not that either of them _don't_ want to, but as they focus on just trying to stay afloat for themselves and their daughter, it is helplessly pushing Will and Bella _away_ from each other...

* * *

 **So, things aren't looking great for Will or Wella after hearing that his uncle died at a similar age as him. Also, Will is slowly but surely catching on to how poorly Bella is coping with their situation.**

 **Also, has anyone been watching Riverdale?! It's my current obsession! If you're into something teen mysteries and things that get a bit dark and a bit gritty, you'll love it. I'm anxiously awaiting season 2...**

 **Next chapter : Zane & Rikki play happy families babysitting Allie for Will & Bella, Rikki gets a shock and she reaches a conclusion about her own baby.**


End file.
